#also might go crazy just keep writing eddie

[hotluncheddie]

stop being a goblin and let me kiss you

part 5

˚✧₊⁎ ⁎⁺˳✧༚ ⁎⁺˳✧༚

‘fucking steveeeee harrington. fucking i just like hearing you talk about it eddie. i like listening to you eddie. i’m actually amazing and perfect in every way eddie. no no don’t mind me i’ll just make your heart melt out of your ass with how sweet i am and then give you a boner like it’s nothing and then act like these are all none issues for you and you’ll live to see another day!’ eddie grumbles, kicking a rock into the dark recesses of the trailers underbelly.

he shoves his toe into the hole the rock left and glances back at steve’s idling car.

steve is looking somewhere distinctly below eddies eye-line, mouth a little slack. but when he notices eddie looking he perks up, waves like they haven't just spent the last four hours together, like eddie didn't just get out of his car.

fucking dork. you’ve fallen for a dork munson what is this? who are you?.. a fucking ex jock dork.. who listens… and is kind and hot.. and was just looking at your ass.

ugh. ugh!!

eddie stomps closer to the trailer.

the little angel version of himself appears on his shoulder. christ not this guy, always bad advice with this one. 'he likes you, you like him, what's the problem?' little angel eddies little white wings flutter, his little halo glints. eddie growls to himself, yeah what is the problem? maybe the problem is that it’s steve. it’s steve and we’re eddie and that just isn’t gonna fly!

thankfully the little devil version is on the other shoulder. now this is the guy he normally gets good advice from, stuff he can follow.

'the problem is that this is steve harrington'

exactly little devil eddie! 'exactly!'

'and he probably has a big dick and you do not know how to handle that.'

oh my god.

'oh my god' eddie mumbles, scrubbing and hand over his face, tugs at his hair. little devil eddie leans on his little pitchfork, making a very obscene hand and cheek gesture.

'better to big dick than not dick at all right?' angel eddie is not helping. not helping!! ‘plus it’s steve! we know steve! he’s nice!’

and eddie softens, arms slack at his side because yeah, steve is nice.

he thinks about how steve would come see him at the trailer all the time because he was always over at max’s helping. about how he really did mean it when eddie could rent on his employee account so they could watch together and save eddie the money. or how when eddie was in the hospital, all tubed up feeling like day old baloney, steve managed to pull a little smile out of wayne, asking him about eddie as a kid and who he’s rooting for in the series.

god, fucking, damn it!!

eddie takes a deep breath. rubs at his eyes so he sees the red goo of his brain.

…come on munson. we promised ourself. no more running.

whirling around eddie bounces on his toes, fist gripping the front of his tee. says a little too loud and a little strangled. ‘you don’t, uh, you don’t wanna come in for a bit do you?’

steve jumps, getting out the car and locking it quick, dipping to smooth his hair down in the side mirror before strolling over to eddie. he spins his keys around on one finger and follows eddie up the little stairs to the trailer door.

lifting one arm up to lean on the doorframe steve looks at eddie who is very interested in his shoes actually, could do with a clean soon.

‘this where the magic happens ed’s?’

that makes eddie look at him.

dumb, pretty boy.

eddie lifts his hand, flourishing it so it looks like he produced the door key from behind steve’s ear. ‘you were here two days ago steve.’

steve stands up straight, looking at the key in eddies hand. ‘how did u do that?’ he looks so serious eddie can’t help but snort.

‘cute.’ poking steve in the chest eddie opens the door, holding it open and sweeping his arm to let steve through first.

little angel eddie and devil eddie fly in front of his nose and high five. disappearing with a cartoon 'poof'.

eddie sighs. follows steve fucking Harrington inside.

˚✧₊⁎ ⁎⁺˳✧༚ ⁎⁺˳✧༚

part 1 (eddie) part 2 (steve) part 3 (eddie) part 4 (steve) part 6 (steve) part 7 (eddie)

(ty everyone who read this!! sorry that they won't be coming out consistently i am very much treating this as a fun thing to write when it comes to me so yeah. luv u mwah!)

#this was supposed to be the last one #but they only just made it inside lmao #whoops #they gotta keep flirting i think!!! #my silly goblins #<3 #steddie #steve x eddie #cocky steve harrington #virgin eddie munson #hotlunch #my fic #also might go crazy just keep writing eddie #who knows #i make the rules tho hehe #stop being a goblin and let me kiss you

[wikiangela]

several sentence sunday

tagged by @hippolotamus

sooo bucktommy won me over, i couldn't resist anymore 🙈 so here's a bit of them after their date lol just to be clear, im still 10000% about buddie but im gonna enjoy this while it lasts bc I feel like this is exactly what buck needs rn lol I just wanna write him be giddy and stupid and flustered about a boy even if that's not eddie haha (also, I didn't get the Tommy hype before but after seeing him everywhere for two days... I get it now 🥵)

___

"(...) We should do this again.” Tommy says, turning fully towards Buck, and Buck’s eyes immediately find his lips. He can’t wait to kiss him again, and this would be the time, at the end of the date, wouldn’t it?

“We should.” Buck nods, licks his lips, eyes darting up to Tommy’s eyes. He’s smiling softly, just looking at Buck. “I-” he starts, and then thinks, fuck it, and this time he makes a move, as he leans across the console to grab Tommy’s chin, like he did Buck’s in his kitchen, and bring him in for a kiss. Tommy immediately reciprocates, and Buck melts against him, and then when Tommy’s calloused hand covers his cheek, it just feels so- so different, in the best way possible. This kiss lasts longer than the first one, each of them constantly coming back for more, but it’s as gentle and tender as that one. Buck loves it, and can’t help smiling into it. He wants more. “Hey.” Buck says, finally pulling away, licks his spit-covered lips nervously. “Do you- do you maybe wanna come in for a beer?” he asks shyly, and at Tommy’s surprised expression and raised eyebrow he realizes it might sound like he’s inviting him for more than a beer, and he panics again. “I- I- I mean, just a beer. And maybe- maybe more of this.” he pecks Tommy’s lips again, not able to resist a smile. “But just a beer. I don’t think I’m- But who knows, maybe-” he stumbles over his words, because the truth is, he wants Tommy, he wants… he wants so much, he wants to experience so much for the first time – it’s just that he’s not sure if it’s not too quick for this relationship, and for him.

“Evan.” Tommy interrupts, bringing his other hand up, now cradling Buck’s face in both, thumbs moving soothingly along Buck’s cheeks. “Your pace, remember? No pressure, no rush.”

“You’re really cool, you know that?” Buck whispers.

“So I keep hearing.” Tommy chuckles, and it’s adorable. He kisses Buck again, and the butterflies in Buck’s stomach go crazy. Fuck, he doesn't remember the last time he felt this giddy and excited and just light. “I’d love to come in for a beer.”

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @thebravebitch @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @neverevan @weewootruck @loveyouanyway @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @spotsandsocks @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @nmcggg @rogerzsteven @giddyupbuck @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @underwater-ninja-13 @exhuastedpigeon @911-on-abc @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @theotherbuckley @buddieswhvre @dangerpronebuddie @diazsdimples @daffi-990 @bidisasterbuckdiaz @fortheloveofbuddie @hoodie-buck @tizniz @your-catfish-friend

#seven sentence sunday #no one look at me i gave in i'm officially boarding the bucktommy ship lmao (as in for now lol my heart will always belong to buddie ofc) #ngl i kinda hate like half of what i wrote so far and really wanna rewrite it but we'll see haha #also i still have mixed feelings about tommy calling buck evan but it's growing on me ngl #this is insane what is going on why is tommy/lou just taking over and changing my whole mind rn lmao #I just want buck to be all giddy and flustered and explore this and just be excited about it aahhh im obsessed lol #fic snippet #wikiangela writes #my writing #my wips #911 fic #911 abc #bucktommy #tommy kinard #evan buckley #bucktommy post-date fic #idk how to tag this lol #btw the beer will lead to some heavy making out bc buck deserves to make out with a cute guy lol

[steviesbicrisis]

Update 13 extras

These are two extras from the latest update of my Steddie SMAU Gareth the Matchmaker. It contains spoilers from the latest update so be sure to go read that before this!!!

Timetable of the events in Update 12 and 13:

-----------

The day Steve spent thinking Eddie was done with him:

Steve's apartment has never felt colder. It downgraded the moment Robin moved back to the US, taking all the decor Steve has always made fun of her for but secretly liked, but at least he had the kids visiting and hours of Facetime calls with Eddie to make up for that. Now, Robin is gone, the kids are back home, and Eddie won't talk to him. He can't lie and say he isn't hurt by Eddie's complete lack of trust but also, can he really blame him? how would he have reacted to a compromising video of Eddie, similar to his? Steve would like to think that he would give him a chance to explain but, who knows?

With his schedule completely cleared, lost sponsorships, and no press until his team comes up with some sort of public statement, Steve finds himself all alone in his apartment, with nothing to distract him or keep him away from checking his phone every thirty seconds, just in case Eddie texted him and he didn't notice.

He checks again. Still nothing.

Logically, he could call Gareth and ask him. But he can't keep bringing him into their relationship and hope that he will fix it. Also, Steve is afraid he will discover that Gareth has also blocked him.

The rest of the day goes on excruciatingly slow, he doesn't move from his couch except to go to the bathroom, his phone always in his hands as he absent-mindedly scrolls through comments filled with rage and insults (he will deal with breaking the promise he made to Robin once she arrives in Tokyo).

The thing is, the comments don't even hurt him.

A few years before, he would've gone crazy for one not-so-positive comment about him, but now he finds himself not caring at all. These people don't know him, their words mean so little. Eddie's silence is much more painful. It doesn't take him too long after that to realize that he would gladly have the whole world hate him if he could have Eddie loving him back as much as he did.

It's around six that Steve decides to write the email. It feels so formal, so cold, and he isn't exactly the best at writing but he's desperate. He writes everything in one go and doesn't even do a double-check before pressing send. He sighs.

Around midnight, the knock on his door breaks the hours-long silence he has been immersed in the whole day, startling him. He realizes he didn't even have lunch and dinner. He takes a second too long to react so a second knock follows the first one. Steve drags his feet all the way to the front door, ready to accept any takeout Robin might have ordered to cheer him up or to chase out any journalist who might have found his address.

He's not ready to be face-to-face with Eddie. Eddie, with even messier hair than usual and panting as if he ran all the way to Japan from Messico. "Eddie" Steve's tone comes out way more broken than what he wanted to, but then he feels one of Eddie's hands on the nape of his neck and his arm around his middle and he can't complain. He has never embraced him like that. Steve hugs him back and buries his nose in Eddie's neck, the hand on his nape encouraging him with a small pressure, and he breathes in. They stay like this, on the threshold, both keeping a strong grip on the other, for a long time. Steve is scared of what will come after he loosens the grip, Eddie seems to be wanting to give him all the physical affection he missed during their weeks of separation. Steve breaks the silence, still not moving an inch "I thought you blocked me" comes out muffled by Eddie's shirt, but still clear enough. Eddie squeezes him even tighter "I'm an idiot", Steve can't see him but he sounds pained "Remember how you always tell me to charge my phone…?" Steve chuckles, gaining enough courage to turn around and look at his face "you really are an idiot." Eddie smiles back at him, happy to being able to look at him in the eyes "hello, sweetheart". Steve melts in his arms "hey to you."

Everything else comes out easier after that. They manage to move away from the door enough to close it, still keeping contact one way or another, and they move to the couch. With the constant pressure of Eddie's body next to him, his hands moving from his shoulders to his hair or his arms, the words come out easy. Steve gets exactly what he was whishing for: a chance to be heard. And Eddie listens carefully as Steve tells him everything.

The fight with Jonathan and the reason why he broke his camera.

His friendship with Tommy, Billy transferring to their school, how people just started to associate them because of their popularity and looks, a reputation that Steve had never managed to scroll off of himself even after high school.

He tells him about the countless times he tried to cut them out of his life, unsuccessfully. He tells him about the good parts, meeting Robin and the kids, doing the job of his dreams, and using his status to help others. He tells him about the bad parts, how he used to act in high school, the nasty things he said to Jonathan, and how he often looked the other way whenever Billy pushed around other people.

Even as Steve shares the ugliest parts of himself, not once Eddie loses his grip on him, not once he interrupts him or shows any type of judgment. Somehow, Eddie understands and he's okay with Steve's ugly parts as much as he is with the good ones. Steve doesn't know, but that evening, Eddie falls quite a lot more in love with him than he already was. However, Steve knows that even if the whole world hates him, Eddie doesn't, and that's all he can ask for.

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie smau #smau #gareth the matchmaker #steve x eddie #steve and eddie #stranger things #corroded coffin #corroded coffin au #famous au #baseball player steve #rockstar eddie #platonic stobin #chrissy cunningham #modern au #sbc writes #GTM updates

[loveshotzz]

Leighanne’s June Fic Rec’s

inspired by @superblysubpar & @ghost-proofbaby I reblog as much as I can but I’d like to try and do one of these once a month to share some of my favorites. (also these all came out around various times of the year, just some of my faves i think of from time to time.)

all of these writers blogs are 18+ please respect their boundaries and read all their warnings and make sure to go and tell them how much you loved whatever fic by them you read. it truly fuels our creativity knowing people like what we’re doing. i can’t tell you how many times literally one person saying something nice about my writing has made my whole day. I think about your sweet reblogs all the time and re read them on my bad days 💕 and i know other writers do too.

Eddie Munson

@carolmunson - Love Language

@chestylarouxx - Bite Me, Please

@courtingchaos - Braised

@superblysubpar - Might Love Me, Baby

@newlips - That feel good baby? // The Sheep

@abibliophobiaa - Begin Again

@boomhauer - Disjointed

@lilacletter - Eddie listening to you when you get spoken over

@ghost-proofbaby - Summertime & Stardust

@bewilderedbunny - Weed Man

@trashmouth-richie - Best friends Blurb

@myosotisa - I’m starvin’ darlin’

Steve Harrington

@rustedhearts - The King of The Ring

@stevenose - Camboy Steve Series

@carolmunson - Always Something There To Remind Me // PBV!steve series

@superblysubpar - We’ll Call It Love & Summertime Magic - Steve’s story

@sweetsweetjellybean - If Tomorrow Never Comes

@upsidedownwithsteve - A Slow Motion Love Potion

@abibliophobiaa - Beyond

@lilacletter - Keep Trying // It’s golden, like daylight

@dr-aculaaa - Dad!Steve series

@roanniom - The Shift

@usedtobecooler - Alt!reader x king!steve (my request 🥰)

@wroteclassicaly - going crazy for steve’s happy trail

Steddie x Reader

@sweetsweetjellybean - Aftermath

@newlips - dtotd steddie x reader

@upsidedownwithsteve - Something Unholy

@blueywrites - To Know You’re Mine

@lilacletter - invisible string

Gator Tillman

@courtingchaos - Shared Inflicted Pain & the oneshots that follow.

@wroteclassicaly - Gator shows you he owns you

(I’m sure I forgot so many, but there’s always next month. I love all of you so much 💕)

#Leighanne’s monthly fic recs #eddie munson x you #steve harrington x you #steddie x reader #eddie munson #steve harrington

[edsloveydove]

I Have Always Seen You

pairing: eddie munson x chubby female reader

summary: of course the boy i've known since 3rd grade, the one i've loved since 7th grade, would be the one to break my heart. i never thought he would be the one to fix it too...

warnings: bullying, fatphobia, use of the word pig towards reader once, falling off a bike, blood and cut knee from falling off said bike, self-doubt and sort of self-hate i guess, cursing, mentality that reader wouldn't be 'missed' (idk if thats a warning but just in case), no use of y/n, underage drinking, reader has an older brother for sake of the story (i gave him a really basic/common name), thoughts and flashbacks are in italics!! nickanames/pet names (shortcake, princess, honey, sweetheart), reader is at least a bit shorter than eddie, very poorly edited, talks of the demobats and upside down, again like very badly edited, lemme know if i missed anything, i'm sure i have!

word count: 9k+

notes: my first fic guys and it turned into this 9,000 word monster! wild! anyway, this might be trash i honestly don't know, i have no perception of it, pls let me know what you think!! also, this story is told in first person point of view so it uses 'i, me, myself' and all that, idk how i feel about it though tbh. uuuuh, enjoy!!

DON'T REPOST MY WRITING OR SHARE IT TO OTHER PLATFORMS (including mentioning it in tiktok comment sections and stuff like that pls) THIS IS MY WRITING, DON'T STEAL IT PLEASE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sweltering midwestern heat was hitting Hawkins, Indiana early this year. School had only been out for a few weeks and it was already hot enough to have the city pool passing the max capacity damn near every day. 

Luckily for me, I had been able to successfully avoid going every time my friends have asked me to join them. Until now. 

“C’mon, it’s gonna be so much fun! Steve’s parents are gone again, like usual, so it’ll just be us and a few other friends!” Robin tries to convince me through the phone.  

“Robin, I never believe ‘just us and a few friends’, because it is ne-”

“It’s never just a few friends, I know. But this time it really will be just a few people. Like, actually just a few people. After everything that happened during spring break and all that, Steve really just wants the main guys there. There’s not gonna be any crazy partying, we’re gonna swim and relax, that’s it.”

“I don’t know, I might be busy tomorrow,” I attempt an excuse. 

“Then we’ll move it to when you’re free. We really want you there, you haven’t gone to any of our movie nights or other hangouts yet,” Robin points out while saying my name softly. “Is it something else? Is there someone you don’t want there?” 

Robin isn’t entirely wrong, there is something else that’s keeping me from joining my friends. And technically it does have to do with someone, but not in the way she thinks. And that someone happens to be none other than the Eddie Munson. 

I’ve known Eddie for many years. My older brother was one of his best friends while growing up having met in elementary school. James was in the grade above Eddie, and the one to introduce him to D&D, eventually passing on the title of Hellfire Club President to him as well. I was always in the background, hoping my brother would let me learn how to play just so I could impress him and his friends. 

While they were occupying the basement, getting pizza and bottles of Coke every other Saturday for their stupid role-playing game, I was in my room reading trashy romance novels and out riding my bike to the library in hopes to seem cool when I came back late at night. 

By the time I got to high school, it was James’ second to last year before he went off to college in Chicago on his big-shot football scholarship he managed to snag before he was even a senior. And yes, James was a Hellfire nerd and a star-athlete, so no one messed with their little club while he was there. Eddie was in his sophomore year, already antsy to graduate and move on to greater things. 

I was just the outcast that didn’t even have a group. It didn’t matter that I was the captain of the football team’s little sister, I never made any friends because I never tried to. 

Needless to say, yeah, Eddie and I had some history and maybe things got brought up when Vecna was trying to take over the world that might have been better left untouched. And maybe the idea of seeing him again brings butterflies to my stomach while also making my gut sink. 

“No, it's not that. I just…I guess I just haven’t been feeling it since…since yanno,” I say, half heartedly. 

Robin voices her understanding and tells me to just call back when I make a decision on if I would go or not. I promise her I will and hang up the phone. It’s not like I didn’t want to see them, because truly I did but it also wasn’t a complete lie when I told her I hadn’t been feeling quite right since the Venca situation. 

It was a really traumatic and horrible experience for everyone involved, and really astonishing that everyone made it out alive. 

‘Maybe I should just go…but what if it’s horrible? I know none of my lovely friends would ever say anything to me about it, but I just can’t stand the thought of them seeing me in a swimsuit, especially Eddie.’ I shake my head at the thought. ‘What a stupid thing to think, god, we all nearly died and I’m worried about my stomach in a swimsuit, how shallow is that? I guess some things just never change, no matter the life threatening situation…’

I go about my nighttime routine, washing my face and making sure no lights have been left on around the house. I say goodnight to my mother and fall right asleep. Or, I try to at least. 

But my mind keeps me up for much longer than I would have hoped. 

‘It would be a good time, though. Have a couple of beers, spend the night in one of Steve’s nice guest bedrooms. I wouldn’t even have to swim, I could just say I’m on my period or something. Ugh, but Robin knows that I always swam even on my period when we were younger. I’ll just wear a suit under my clothes and pretend the water is too cold even though it’s the peak of summer? Yeah, that should work. I can’t imagine anyone will care that much anyway if I’m not in the pool with them. I really do miss my friends.’

~ 

The next morning I call Robin and tell her I’ll be there tonight. She squeals in delight and tells me how happy she’ll be to see me.

Now it was just time to pick out an outfit, should be simple enough, right? 

Well, after leaving it to the last second and now only having about 15 minutes to get to Steve’s when it’s already a five minute drive, having half of my closet strewn about my room doesn’t seem like a very good place to be at. 

I finally sigh and opt for a swim suit from the summer before that I never wore, a green one piece with a wrapped sort of style for the top portion, and black cut off shorts and an old t-shirt that fits comfortably loose over it. 

I grab my keys and kiss my mother on the forehead, reminding her I wouldn’t be back till the next morning. 

Several shouts of my name reach my ears once I reach Steve’s backyard, it does bring a small smile to my face knowing I’ve been missed just as much as I’ve missed them. 

“You’re actually here, I’m so happy to see you!” Nancy says pulling me in for a hug, Robin joining on top, squishing us all together. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know it’s been a while. I’m sorry.” 

“No, you don’t have to be sorry, it’s been a really hard year,” Nancy says sincerely. 

Steve comes up for a hug next, squishing me for dear life, I could feel him about to try to lift me up and spin me around so I pull away rather abruptly. 

“Alright, alright, it’s nice to see you, too, Steve.”

He answers with a kiss to the cheek and makes me promise that I’ll come to the next hangout and every one after that. I see Jonathan and he waves with a small awkward smile. 

Finally my eyes meet Eddie’s. 

~

“James! James! C’mon, come outside and play with me!” It was nearing the end of summer before James would go back to school for his 8th grade year and I would be going into 6th grade. 

“Not right now, can’t you see that I’m busy? I’m too old to play outside anyway,” my brother rolls his eyes. 

I hop down the stairs so I can see the basement fully now. Spotting all of my brother's friends huddled around our dinky old card table while he has books and notepads sprawled on his end. 

“Well, can I at least play your game with you guys? I’m sure I can learn it fast!” I beam, faking confidence in hopes to sway them. 

“No offense, shortcake, but it’s probably too confusing for you. Besides, we’re right in the middle of a campaign, it would be too hard to add in another character out of the blue right now,” Eddie says with a chuckle, like the idea that I could play is too amusing to even consider. 

Naturally, I take full offense. 

“Fine! You’re all so annoying, I didn’t even want to play with you anyway. Especially not with someone who has a buzzcut!” I stick my tongue out at them and run away, but not before I can hear them laughing. 

Sitting alone in my room I know it was childish of me, especially for my age. James was probably right, he was too old to be outside playing tag with his sister. I was too old to be throwing a tantrum like this over some friends wanting to spend time with each other without one’s little sister hanging around. 

~

“Hey, Munson.” 

Eddie nods his head in greeting and goes back to talking with Jonathan. Well, that’s honestly about as much interaction as I expected to get from him tonight. 

“Alright, let’s get this party started!” Robin exclaims, dragging you toward the cooler filled with ice and drinks, I grab a Sprite to start with. 

2 hours later and my Sprite is still mostly untouched and it’s now gone lukewarm. The others are in the pool splashing and playing chicken, I sit on the side with my feet dangling into the shallow end, watching as they fool around and laugh. Giggles and quiet laughs leave my lips on occasion with them. 

“You should get in, the water’s really nice!” Nancy says. 

“Yeah! Strip for us and get in here,” Robin adds, making everyone laugh. 

“You guys just want to get me out of my clothes, don’t you?” I play it off, shaking my head slightly. Giggles erupt again. I excuse myself to the bathroom after pulling my legs out of the pool. 

Closing and locking the door behind me I look at myself in the mirror.

‘I should just get in the pool, shouldn’t I? I do feel like I’m missing out on what could be a lot of fun. And it wouldn’t hurt to wash all this sweat off of me. I could just keep my shirt on, I have an extra change of clothes as backup anyway.’ 

I finish my business and leave the bathroom. 

After turning the corner to go back to the pool I run straight into something firm, nearly being toppled over before hands are at my forearms to keep me from doing so. Seeing dark curls fanning across this “something’s” shoulders and several patches of dark ink on its bare skin, I immediately know I have just run head first into Eddie. Great. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I murmur, keeping my eyes pointed down. 

“It’s alright, shortcake. No harm done right?” he says, adjusting his head to try to catch my eyes. 

I nod my head and pull away from his hands that still rest gently on my arms. 

“Hey, hey, what’s up? You’re so quiet tonight, is everything okay?” 

I nod again and pull away harder, rushing out the door to get back to the pool, ignoring his call of my name and a request to “just hold on a second.” 

Pulling my shorts off quickly, I step up to the pool and begin to wade into the water before Robin stops me. 

“Your shirt! You don’t want the chlorine to ruin it!” 

My heart thumps, thinking of how I can handle this. My mouth opens to say something but before I can, Robin cuts me off. 

“Just take it off, no one’s gonna make fun of you for being in your swimsuit and if they do I’ll beat them up for you and then we’ll all collectively agree to throw them out of the group. And don’t try to tell me that’s not what it is, I can see it all over your face. You’re allowed to have fun and go swimming, I don’t like to see you excluding yourself, no matter the reason,” she says. 

Of course she would see right through any lie I could throw her way. That’s just how Robin is. No matter how clumsy she can be, she really is observant. Not only that, but she’s right. Nobody cares and if they do, that’s their problem. 

I rip off my shirt and dive into the pool trying to minimize the time in which people could see me without it. Immediately finding Steve’s legs I yank his ankles so he falls backwards into the water with an unnecessarily loud screech. 

It makes the rest of us laugh loudly until Steve comes back up for air with a thirst for vengeance. He chases me around the pool, not for long considering he’s such a strong swimmer and I’m really not trying very hard to get away from him, and catches me easily. His arms wrap around my waist and I cringe as his hands nudge my stomach, scolding myself for the action right after. Steve doesn’t care about my stomach, if he did, he wouldn’t be my friend. 

“That really wasn’t very nice,” Steve says and starts lifting me out of the water. 

“Steve, hey. Steve! Steve, no, I’m too heavy! Stevie, no! Bad Stevie! Bad!”

I’m thrown in the air as far as he can get me and I splash back down. 

I come up spluttering for breath, “Oh, you are so dead, Harrington!” 

All at once the rest of us are splashing and dunking him over and over, until he pleads mercy. Shrieks and squeals of glee and what might be considered laughter fill the air as everyone gets their turn being thrown into the water. 

Eddie comes back out from the house and cannonballs in the middle of our ‘hate on Steve’ fest. 

Eventually I end up back on the side of the pool in my shirt with just my feet in, this time so I can enjoy a fresh soda and mellow out a little, not to make myself smaller. Nancy and Jonathan have called it a night already, leaving Steve, Eddie, and Robin in or by the pool with me. 

“I never noticed this scar? Where did you get it?” Robin points to my knee. 

~ 

The nice old librarian put a hand on my shoulder gently to get my attention, telling me the library would be closing soon and it was best I head home, I hadn’t realized how late it already was. I pack everything together as fast as I can, quickly saying goodnight and unlocking my bike, trying my hardest to race home before the sun sets. 

The wheels of my rickety bicycle pump faster and faster and in my haste I bump over a high curb without realizing, flying off and onto the pavement. 

Tears spring to my eyes as air is sucked in through my teeth. I take a look at my knee and see a small dribble of blood seeping down it, my hands have little scrapes all over, spotted with little beads of red. 

Not the worst I could have gotten from a bike incident, but bad enough to keep me from being able to ride the rest of the way home. It’s not far, but so much for getting back before the street lights turn on. 

About 15 minutes later I make it into our backyard, dropping the two wheeled contraption from hell into the grass and stumbling through the door, all while sniffling back sobs. 

“Oh hey, shortcake! James was starting to get worried about you, you really shouldn’t walk alone at night yanno? Next time ju-” Eddie cuts himself off after seeing the state I’m in. Of course he had to be the one to see me like this. Anyone else could have been sent on snack duty tonight, but it just had to be him. 

“Oh my god, what happened?” He walks up to me. 

I shrug my shoulders and look away. I catch a glimpse of how bad my knees and hands have gotten on the walk home. Blood drips down both knees, my left knee looking significantly worse than the right. Dirt and pebbles cover my palms along with streaks of crimson. 

“Don’t do that, sweetheart. Tell me what happened? Please?” 

I still don’t say anything, fresh, hot tears welling up and already spilling out. I refuse to let stupid Eddie Munson see me like this, all it would be is more leverage to make fun of me with. 

He pulls my hand gently until I’m sitting down. Eddie appears in front of me with a first aid kit a few seconds later, carefully cleaning the gashes on my knees and scrapes on my hands with alcohol wipes. 

“Did,” he lets out a shuddering breath, “Did someone hurt you?” 

“No, god no Eddie, I just-, god this is so embarrassing, I just fell off of my bike is all,” I mutter, not really wanting him to hear the words as they come out. 

“S’ not embarrassing, stuff like that happens. I just wish you would have told me, here I was thinking the boys and I were going to have to band together to cause hell for our favorite little goblin,” he says. 

“You’re just trying to make me feel better, you guys wouldn’t really do that, I guess James might. Most of you guys don’t even really like me that much anyway, you don’t have to lie,” I whisper.

“That’s not true! Of course we would stick up for you!” he says like he’s shocked that I would think the opposite. 

I just shrug my shoulders again and wipe my eyes, still avoiding looking him in the face. 

“Here, let me help you up to your room. That can’t feel good to walk on,” he pulls me up from the chair and goes to lift me into his arms. I jump out of his reach before he can. 

“It’s okay, I got it. Just- you better get back downstairs before they start worrying. I’ll take care of myself.” 

“What? No, you’re basically limping just standing here, shortcake, let me carry you, it’ll only take a minute?” He phrases it like a question. Asking but also sort of demanding. 

The idea is actually really nice, and I want to say yes to it. It would be like when the prince finally gets the princess in all those books I’ve read. Eddie could sweep me off of my feet and whisk me away. 

But I know better, I know that he wouldn’t be able to lift me. Even if he could he wouldn’t so much as glance at me, again, I’m just his friend's little sister. Here only because this is where she lives. 

“No thank you, I’m okay. Go ahead and go back to your game, I’m sure they miss you already. Nobody would even notice if I were gone, but they’ll practically riot without you,” I try to cover how deeply I believe those words with a laugh as I wobble away and halfway up the stairs before he can stop me. 

~

“Um, I guess I don’t really remember. It’s probably just one of those super old scars you forget are even there,” I say, even though I recall the night I got it vividly. 

Eddie’s eyes meet mine from the other side of the pool and they look almost…hurt at the possibility that I might not remember that day. Well, he didn’t get to feel hurt about it. He made it clear that he doesn’t care how I feel when we were in the upside down. 

“Hmmm, yeah, I have, like, tons of those actually,” Robin says, “This one is from my cat, Steven, and this one-” 

“You have a cat named Steven?” I cut her off. She gives me a look that says ‘duh’. 

“But what about Steve? Like human Steve? Was this before or after you became friends? And how has this never come up before?” I practically shriek. 

“Believe me, it has come up before. And yes, before she tells you otherwise, it was after we became friends,” Steve says, settling down beside me while throwing his arm around my shoulders. 

“That is not true! I found him outside the mall before we became friends! We may have been working together at that point, but we were not friends yet!” Robin shouts. 

“We were friends, she’s just embarrassed that she named her cat after me,” Steve whispers in my ear, making me giggle like a schoolgirl. 

Even though I’ve never seen Steve romantically, he still had the ability to reduce me to feet kicking and hair twirling. 

“What’s wrong with you, Munson?” Steve asks, noticing the scowl covering his face that usually carries a bright smile. 

Eddie shakes his head, “Nothing man, just thinking about how I don’t have a beer in my hand right now.” 

~ 

A call of my name breaks my gaze away from the mirror. 

“You almost ready? It’s time to go!” James yells, entering my room. “Hey! You look great! It almost feels like I’m sending you off to prom already,” he says wiping fake tears from his cheeks. 

I shove him in the chest and readjust my hair and the straps to my dress for what feels like the millionth time. It was a rather simple looking thing considering I had to sew it myself since the only dresses even near my size were too far out of theme for the 8th grade Winter Snowball or they were simply just ugly. 

Light blue and white fabric lays delicately across my shoulders and down to my knees, matched with white slip on shoes and silver snowflake jewelry. 

“You look really nice, seriously. I know how nervous you are, but it’s gonna be okay, I promise,” my brother assures me, slapping my shoulder much harder than necessary to push me towards the door, “Now it’s time to get your butt moving, let’s go!” 

When we arrive at the dance I immediately catch eyes with Robin and speed walk to her. James goes wherever he's needed for volunteering. 

After about 45 minutes the first slow song of the night comes on as I sit contently by myself at the far end of the bleachers. I wasn’t sad to not be dancing with anyone, I was honestly sort of relieved that I hadn’t had to dance all night. But watching all the couples on the dance floor does make my heart ache just a little. 

“I haven’t seen you dance all night, what’s that about?” 

“Why are you here?” 

“Ouch, shortcake, I don’t even get a hello? And what, I can’t come volunteer with your brother?” Eddie says, fake hurt painting his face. 

“It just doesn’t seem like you, I guess.” 

He sits down next to me leaving at least enough room for another person to sit between us. He hands me an unopened juice box. 

“Seriously though, why aren’t you out there? You don’t have someone you wanna get cozied up with on the dancefloor?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me in his typical annoying Eddie way. 

I roll my eyes, as my stomach twists with shame. He’s mocking me, isn’t he? 

“Nope. I’m okay with it though. Honestly I was perfectly happy just sitting here. Until you showed up that is,” I say with a shrug. 

“Oh really? Well, gosh, who made you such a sour fart?” he laughs as I push him in the arm. 

“Alright, c’mon then. Pity party is over, let's go do this,” Eddie holds out his hand and raises a brow when all I do is look at it confused. “Let’s go dance, shortcake, you should at least once before it’s over.” 

“Um- I-” I’m at a loss for words. There’s no way he’s being anything but friendly but my stupid heart skips too many beats to count. 

“Here, I need to go check on James and see how the other volunteers are doing. While I take care of that, I want you to sit here and decide if you want to dance with me or not. Of course, I won’t make you do anything you don’t wanna, but if you’re up for it, I’m here,” he says, bouncing back to the drinks and snacks table. I smile giddily at his back and stay sitting. 

By the time the last song of the night played I was still in the exact same spot I had been for nearly 2 hours, waiting for Eddie to come back. 

Immediately after he left, I knew I wanted to dance with him. Of course I would. I’ve known him since I was in 4th grade and have had a crush on him for a year now. All I had to do was wait a few minutes and I would get to live out a fairytale dream. Dancing across the room in a flowey dress with the guy I liked. Of course it would be strictly platonic on his end but it could mean something more to me silently. 

So there I sat, with my empty juice box, tapping my foot in excitement. The first slow song ended and there was no sign of Eddie, but I was sure he just caught up with volunteer work. After the next 3 songs played I began to doubt myself slightly. 

‘Maybe he hadn’t actually wanted to dance like it had seemed. But he looked really sincere when asking me. Yeah. And even if Eddie is just a regular teenage boy, and he can definitely be a jerk sometimes, he’s much sweeter and kinder than most. He wouldn’t leave me hanging like that. He’ll be back any minute now, I’m sure.’ 

By the time 11 more songs had played, I knew he wasn’t coming back. Tears were smearing my mascara while I sat as still as possible on the bleachers, not wanting to draw any attention to myself.  

Of course he wasn’t being serious. He just wanted to tease me like usual, the only difference was this time it went too far. This time he was cruel about it. He could have just told me he didn’t mean it. Instead he strung me along and had me sitting here like a lovesick puppy for an hour straight. 

Who was I kidding? Eddie couldn’t be interested in me. He was my brother's best friend and had seen me grow up. I was just his friend’s chubby little sister. Wearing a dress that doesn’t sparkle and shine like all the others’, sitting alone and pouting like a baby. 

He probably thought I would crush his feet if I accidentally stepped on them. 

After persevering through another hour of horror, James finds me in my corner ready to head home. 

“All ready to go?” he asks jovially like he always seems to be. 

“Yes.” 

James picks up on my mood right away, but I’m already halfway to the car before he can say anything. 

“Okay, uh, I gotta clean up some stuff still but here,” he throws me his car keys when I turn back around, “Go get the car started yeah?” 

I nod and head out to the car when I see Eddie jogging up to the doors after me. My steps speed up hoping for all hell to avoid him. He calls my name but I don’t look back or slow down, in fact, the only thing it succeeds in doing is making me walk faster. 

My hands shake as I try to slip the key into the driver’s side door handle. Warm hands settle on my wrists. 

“Holy shit, I am so sorry, shortcake. I was so excited to dance with you, I really was, I just got caught up in helping another volunteer with something and lost track of time. I didn’t mean to forget you there all alone, I swear on everything. I know how excited you were for tonight and I am so sorry. I didn’t realize how long I had been gone until everyone started leaving and then I saw you get up and realized what I’d done, please forgive me,” he rambles off almost too quickly to understand. 

I expect tears but all I get is a deep rooted feeling of shame and anger. Ashamed by the fact that I thought he would come back and angry at myself for sitting there hopelessly when I could’ve danced with Robin at least. 

“Please, look at me. Please tell me you at least got to dance with someone else, right? You had a good time? Please tell me you at least had fun,” he pleads. 

A scoff escapes me as I whirl on him. 

“No, I didn’t dance with someone else, I sat there and I waited for you. I waited for you the whole time, and I guess that was my first mistake wasn’t it, huh? I believed you. I really thought you meant what you said to me.” 

I rip my arms out of hold. 

“You know what’s funny, too? I was actually having a really good time before you showed up. I told you as much earlier, even. I was perfectly happy to sit by myself, considering that’s how I spend most of my time anyway. I was really enjoying just watching the lights and the twirl of dresses, alone. I was overjoyed to just sit and watch Robin dance with her friends. And you had to come and- and lie to me! You made me feel special for fuck’s sake.” 

His eyes flash with guilt and he must have finally realized how much he hurt me. 

“I get that I’m not the prettiest and skinniest girl and I know that most of those kids don’t even know my name, but you do! You know me. You know me and you still forgot about me,” I pause and take a deep breath, “Do you remember what I said that night when I fell off my bike?” 

Eddie shakes his head.

“Nobody would even notice if I were gone. Nobody, not even you, I guess. You forgot about me not even 5 minutes after making me feel like the most special girl in that whole damn room. And that was really mean, Eddie. I hope you, at least, have a good rest of your night,” I step into the car and start the engine.

~ 

Steve plops down next to me holding 4 cans of beer, one for each of us. 

“I’m really happy I came tonight, thank you, for inviting me and not forgetting about me after I kinda disappeared,” I say quietly. 

Steve pats my back while Robin says something along the lines of ‘duh, of course we would never forget about you.’ 

Eddie stays silent, watching me closely. 

I put my drink on the ground beside me and lay on my back, pulling my shirt down to make sure it covers me still. I start to count the stars, just to keep my brain occupied. My eyes drift shut, my mind choosing to visit yet another memory tonight.  

~ 

It was James’ graduation party. All we had were a couple tables set up with snacks in the backyard and a bonfire, nothing too fancy. I made a simple ‘Happy Graduation!’ banner to hang across the gate for everyone to see, too. 

I’m wearing a plain white sundress and converse, I knew I would be running back and forth from the backyard and the kitchen too much for heels to be sensible. Making sure there’s enough drinks and food and ice for everyone was my job tonight. The sun is still up, melting the ice and warming every drink out here. 

James calls my name softly, “You can quit running around and tending to every little need. Come hang out with everyone for a little bit. Please?” 

I set down the metal tub where drinks are kept and walk over to sit around the fire with him and his usual friends. New faces have popped up over the years, but many stayed the same. Danny Williams, a junior who may or may not have been my first kiss when we happened to both show up at the same party and ended up playing spin the bottle together, Jason Carver, a freshman who appeared promising on the football team before switching to basketball instead, Michael Brown, a senior who’s been in the little Hellfire Group since the beginning. There are several others I don’t recognize and even more that I do. 

Of course, Eddie is there too. I just haven’t really…acknowledged him in…in a really long time. 

I haven’t necessarily been giving him the silent treatment, but I stopped entertaining the conversations he always seemed to start with me. 

Danny greets me with a smile as he sits down next to me. He even pulls his lawn chair a little closer towards mine, grinning slightly while doing so. 

“What can I do for you Danny?” I say. 

“Oh nothing. I just wanted to come sit by you, is all.” Huh. That…that sort of stumps me. 

I didn’t think Danny would even recognize me at the party, and I’m honestly even more surprised that he wanted to talk to me after kissing me. We make small conversation, butting into the rest of the group's discussion once in a while to add an opinion. 

Night had fallen and marshmallows and graham crackers were brought out for s'mores, as well as a couple of 12 packs of beer that someone had brought with them. 

I knew James had gone to several parties to celebrate winning a football game where there had been alcohol, or even just little get-togethers where it was provided. I guess now that it was only soon-to-be seniors and high school graduates, minus myself, left at the party it was time for that portion of the night to begin. 

I stand up to go in and let the others have their fun. 

“Where’re you going?” Danny asks, grabbing my hand lightly, looking up with wide puppy dog eyes. His eyes are a pretty green color. Brown eyes have always been my favorite, though. 

“Oh, I was just going to head in and call it a night. That way you all could have your fun without worrying about me dragging you down.” 

My comment makes his brows furrow, his mouth opens to say something, but he’s cut off. 

“You can stay out here, you know. No one minds having you here and I’m sure dear old James doesn’t care if you partake in a little drink, do you?” Eddie states. When did he get so close to us? 

“Even if I did care she gets to do what she wants, man. As long as you're safe about it, go for it,” James says, patting my back and taking one for himself. 

I’ve never drank before, but what the hell? James was leaving in just a few weeks now and this might be my only chance to try it. It’s certainly one of my last chances to hang out with everyone like this, at least for a while. 

After just 2 cans my tongue had already loosened significantly. Danny and I had been talking and giggling the whole time until he had gotten up to go home since his designated driver was ready to leave. 

“So, you and Danny seem pretty close suddenly?” Eddie phrases it like a question, wanting more information on the subject. 

Usually I would just hum in what could be taken as agreement or disinterest but my mind was running a little slower than normal. 

“Yeah, he and I kinda ran into each other at a party that I kinda crashed with Robin and we ended up, like, kissing and stuff,” I giggled. “But shhhh, don’t tell anyone else.”  

Eddie’s eyes widened, but that could have been a trick of the light. 

“What, uh, what do you mean by ‘and stuff’?” 

“Oh nothing. We just had one teensy tiny kiss because we were playing spin the bottle,” I say, not really thinking about it. 

Now I really know my brain is playing tricks on me because for a second I think Eddie looks pleased with this new knowledge that it didn’t really mean anything. 

“I feel like we haven’t really talked in a long time. What’s, uh, what’s been up, lately?” 

The question itself is awkward, but the way he struggled through it made it even more awkward. 

“I’ve been regular old me, Eddie. Nothing new or exciting. Although I did finish a book last night that really threw me through a loop. Oh! Actually there is something exciting! Do you wanna hear it?” 

He smiles, “Of course I do, shortcake.” 

“Well,” I take another sip of what is now my third beer, “William Gillar and Stacy Johnson have finally graduated!” I let out a squeal. 

Eddie just looks at me confused. 

“Do you have any idea what this means, Eds? I am finally free of those two asshats for the rest of my high school experience! Isn’t that amazing! I mean, it was easier to ignore this year than last year, but god I am so thrilled! No more mean notes from them calling me a pig in my locker and book bag, I can even finally find a table to sit at for lunch instead of hiding in Mr. Steerwell’s class,” I sigh happily. 

“Do you wanna know what else they did? This is so silly! They used to catch me on my walk home from school and steal my library books. How stupid is that? Why would you steal someone’s library books, right? They would run around with it so I would chase after them and then laugh at how my body would jiggle. How funny, right? I am so happy they’re gone, Eds, you have no idea.” 

Eddie has his mouth halfway open, anger flaring in his eyes. But that couldn’t be right, why would he care about a couple of high school bullies. 

“No, that’s not funny or silly. That’s been going on this whole time? And you didn’t tell anyone? God, why wouldn’t you tell someone, sweetheart? That’s horrible,” he says. 

“Meh, it’s just normal high school bully stuff.” I wave my hand in dismissal. 

“No, it’s not. Bullying shouldn’t even be considered normal anyway, but what they did to you? That goes far beyond normal, shortcake. I wish you would have said something. You know James and I would’ve taken care of them for you, right?” 

“Well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it. It’s too late,” I dismiss him and his misplaced worry. Honestly, it was nothing I couldn’t handle. He must have sensed how much I didn’t want to talk about it anymore because he dropped it. 

The night moves quickly after that, people say their goodbyes as James takes over clean up duty, considering I can barely stand up without nearly falling asleep. 

“Eddie, will you take her in and make sure she gets into bed okay?” James asks. 

That’s how I find myself being semi-dragged up the stairs to my bedroom and thrown on the mattress like a sack of potatoes. I don’t think Eddie was half as rough as my brain made it seem, to be honest. 

“Eds?” I whisper looking down at Eddie who’s kneeling by feet, gently taking my shoes off. 

“Yeah?” 

A couple beats of silence pass where I try to figure out how to word what I’m thinking. 

“I forgive you.” His movements stop. “I hope you know that. It’s probably such a silly little thing to even remember but I forgive you for forgetting to dance with me. I probably would have forgotten me, too. And…and I am sorry. I really am, for pushing you away so hard after. It was really stupid of me and I wish I hadn’t. Robin is a good friend, but you’re kind of the closest thing I’ve ever had to a best friend, I think. And I threw that all away over hurt feelings. Puberty, am I right?” I giggle. 

“S’ not silly to remember that. And you weren’t being stupid, sweetheart. You were hurt, you were protecting yourself and I don’t blame you for that. I should never have even walked away from you that night, but I did. And I don’t deserve your forgiveness for it,” Eddie says. 

More words mumble out of his mouth but none of it registers. Soon the noise stops and I feel Eddie’s warm hands pull my shoes all the way off, pushing my legs onto the bed and turning me to lay comfortably on my stomach. 

He must remember that’s my favorite way to sleep. 

My mind must really hate me because I swear, right before I fall asleep, I feel lips pressing gently to my forehead while a guitar calloused hand pushes hair away from my eyes. 

Of course, that didn’t actually happen because that’s not something Eddie would do. Right? Yeah, he wouldn’t…

~ 

A timid shake to my shoulder pulls me from my dozing. 

“Hey, shortcake, it’s time for you to go in.” 

There’s only one person who’s ever called me by that nickname. 

“Hm, it’s been a while since you’ve called me that…Eds.” 

I don’t know what made me decide to use his nickname. It never seemed right to use it after we drifted so far apart when James left. 

Eddie helps pull me to my feet. 

‘Hmmm, he’s always been a lot stronger than he looks. I barely even lifted myself up for him.’ 

“Oh, now you wanna be all friendly again? Using a nickname and everything? What’s this all about, huh?” Eddie says, steadying me with his calloused hands when my legs wobble.   

My brows furrow, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Earlier, when we were in the house. You practically ran away from me. I mean, it’s just that we…we haven’t seen each other since we went into the upside down. I thought maybe,” he lets out a long breath. “Maybe things had changed or something, I guess. I was hoping we could talk about it after we all got out but you’ve been avoiding everyone.” 

“And why is that? Why do you think things would have changed Eddie?” 

~

“No! No, no, no! Edward Munson, if you cut that rope, so help me god!” 

“You know I always love when you use my full name.” 

And the bastard cuts the rope. 

The next thing I know, he’s out of the trailer doing something entirely too heroic and the exact amount of stupid he always is. 

Before I can think I shove Dustin out of the trailer, the one not in the upside down, and send him to go help Lucas. 

“No! We need to help him! Can’t you see that he needs help!” 

“I know Dustin, I know. That’s why I’m staying here. But I need you to go find Lucas and Erica and check on Max. There are others who still need our help, Henderson. Please, listen to me and go help them.” 

I turn back into the trailer before he can disagree again, locking the door to make sure he doesn’t follow. Without second guessing, I jump through the portal, landing somewhat safely on my side. 

I manage to find a bike and just a few minutes later I’m riding as fast as I can towards the bat tornado that Eddie stands in the middle of. 

“Eddie you dumb jerk, you better not be getting yourself killed!” I scream at the top of my lungs. His eyes catch mine as a look of horror crosses his face. 

“Why the hell did you follow me? I specifically told you not to!” 

“Yeah, well I specifically told you not to cut the rope!” 

We fight off the bats as best we can until they all suddenly drop to the ground. 

Eddie and I stand breathing hard, our brains trying to catch up with all of what just happened. Eddie turns to me, a grin beginning to form. 

I punch him as hard as I can in the chest. And then I do it again, and then again and again, until I’m pounding my fists against his chest over and over again. 

“What the hell?! Honey, stop, you’re gonna hurt yourself!” 

I choke on hiccupping sobs as hot tears overflow past my lashes. 

“Don’t you ever do something like that again! Ever!” 

Eddie grabs my wrists to keep me from hitting him anymore. I keep trying until I realize his hold on me is too strong. 

“Princess, you gotta stop. I don’t want to see you hurt anymore, please stop.” 

He wraps his arms around me, stroking the back of my hair, pressing soft kisses to my forehead. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s okay. We’re okay, I promise.” 

“That was not okay, Eddie. Not okay!” I tell him looking up into his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, I really am. But look, we did it!” 

He looks down at me thoughtfully. His eyes flit down to my lips. My breath catches. 

He couldn’t possibly be… 

His lips are on mine. And Eddie Munson is kissing me. 

Both of his hands are on the side of my face, rubbing his thumbs softly across the apples of my chubby cheeks. 

I pull away, “What do you think you’re doing?” 

“Kissing my shortcake,” he says with a smirk while I grimace at the phrase. He laughs at the face I make and kisses me again. 

I kiss back harder this time, getting lost in all things Eddie. The way his hair feels soft even despite being so dirty. His lips are somehow minty. He smells like smoke and old books. 

My heart soars. This has to be proof, then. Eddie must think of me the way I think of him. I can’t imagine ever kissing someone with this much passion if it didn’t mean something more. I smile into the kiss.

Footsteps sound behind where we stand and Eddie pushes me off of him, placing several feet between us. I look at him confused and hurt by his sudden change in behavior. He refuses to meet my eyes. He even wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, looking straight ahead at Steve, Robin and Nancy appearing in front of us. 

Oh.

He’s too embarrassed to let his new friends see him with the big girl? Is that what it is? Does he suddenly regret kissing me? Was it just a heat of the moment type of deal, then? I was the closest human thing, so he settled on me for a little ‘yay the world didn’t end’ kiss?

In my whole life, I don’t think anything has hurt as much as that did. 

~

An uncomfortable amount of silence fills the air.. 

“Things got weird after James left, but you know that. We both felt it, even though we tried to ignore it. Jason started to act like he ran the damn school even though we were friends at one point. I never saw you because we were never at your house anymore. Then I got held back and we basically had every class together. Then I got held back again and you graduated. I missed you. I really, really missed you,” he says the last part quietly. Almost like he was afraid for me to hear it. I hold back a scoff.

“I missed you so much, it’s ridiculous. I just wanted my shortcake back. My sweetheart, my princess, my honey,” he laughs to himself, I stay quiet. “God, I was such a jerk to you growing up. And not because ‘I had a crush on you’ because that’s bullshit, guys shouldn’t be allowed to be mean to girls with the excuse of it being ‘romantic’. I wish I had treated you better, been a little friendlier. I never realized how much you meant to me until your brother’s graduation.” 

He takes his eyes away from his feet to glance at me. 

“Do you remember that night? It was your first time drinking and you got so sleepy I had to tuck you into bed. You had told me about you and Danny at that party and it made me jealous. I’d never really felt jealous before, certainly not like that at least. It made me realize how deep my feelings for you went.” 

I remain silent, partly because I didn’t want to interrupt him when this is the most honest and vulnerable he’s ever been, out of respect, and partly because I was utterly confused and angered by what he was saying and claiming.

“You forgave me for leaving you alone at the dance, even though I never deserved to be forgiven for that. I didn’t even know how badly you were being bullied at school until you told me, that’s not a person who deserves to be forgiven.” 

A soft laugh and a pause. “I guess what I’m saying is…is I wish things had, in fact, changed after Vecna. And I know, that’s probably not something you want to hear because I know it’s not the same for you but I figure if you’re not gonna talk to me anyway, I may as well tell you, right?” 

He takes a step towards the house but I don’t let him get far. 

“What do you mean it’s ‘not the same for me’?” 

“Well obviously you’ve been ignoring me since I kissed you so, clearly it wasn’t something you wanted.” He shrugs his shoulders. “And that’s okay. I’m not saying you have to be with me or anything, I’m just saying…I don’t know what I’m saying.” 

“I’ve been ignoring you?” I ask, dumbfounded by his idiocy. 

“Well, yeah. You haven’t even been answering the walkie.” 

“And you think that was because I didn’t want to kiss you? Not because, oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that the second Nance and the others showed up you shoved me away from you? It couldn’t have been because it was obvious you couldn’t stand the thought of being seen with me?” 

Eddie’s face drains of color. 

“I can’t help but see now that this is all you think I deserve. A quick kiss when no one can see, right? A little making out before someone can figure who you’re with, huh?” 

“No! That is not at all what that was! I can’t believe you would think that. I pushed you away so you wouldn’t be seen with me!” he shouts, cutting me off. 

“What?” 

“The whole town wanted me for murder! Murder! They thought I was running a cult that killed my friend as a sacrifice! My friend! I didn’t want you to be tied to that anymore than you already were, so I pushed you off before the others could see. If someone, somehow went yapping about a girlfriend of mine and things went sideways when we got out of the upside down, you might have gone down with me and I couldn’t let that happen. I just couldn’t. I was going to tell you all of this as soon as I could but you never let me get the chance, and I see why now. I am so sorry it looked like I was embarrassed to be with you, but that will never be the case with me.” 

He takes my face in his hands and looks me directly in the eyes. 

“You are single-handedly the most beautiful person I have ever met. Inside and out. You have always cared for me and the old Hellfire Club. Don’t think I didn’t know it was you sending cookies on our campaign nights, even after graduating. I remember when I showed up at your house looking for James because some older kids had taken my lunch money in middle school, little you went after them yourself and did one helluva job doing it. You sat me down and cleaned me up. Gave me peas to put on my forehead.”  

It was like a forgotten memory was just pulled up by his words, I did remember that. 

“I could never be embarrassed by you, ever. I don’t care what people think. I…I love you. And I love your hair, and I love your eyes, and I love your laugh, and I love your stomach and your thighs, and I love your mind. I love you and I hope you can see it. I hope…I hope you can see me,” he finishes off in a very quiet whisper, tilting his head down and away from my eyes. 

I place my hands over his that still hold my face. 

“I have always seen you, Eddie Munson. Always.” 

His head jolts up to look me in the eyes once more. 

“God, Eddie, I’m so sorry. I know you’re not a horrible person, I should have known, I’m so sorry. God, you were literally being hunted for murder and I was crying about you being embarrassed by me? I’m so fucking sorry.” 

I shake my head and take a deep breath. 

“I love you, I have for so long. I love the way you smile, I love the way you’re not afraid to take up space, I love the way you’re there for Dustin, the way you were there for me countless times. I love you and your horrible music.”

“Hey, now. Watch it.”

I laugh, “I love you and I see you and I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re forgiven, I promise. You didn’t even really need to apologize in the first place.” 

“Yes, I did. Because none of that was fair to you.” 

“And none of that was fair to you, shortcake. It’s okay.” 

I look at his lips, and that’s all the cue Eddie needs to kiss me. Finally. We put our hearts into it, getting lost in each other. Getting lost in our sudden understandings of the other.  

“We’re both really kinda stupid aren’t we? Stupid and oblivious,” I say, chuckling quietly. 

“Oh, definitely. I mean, we’ve known each other for, what, at least ten years and we couldn’t figure this out without a bunch of drama?” 

“It seems very on brand for you actually, you’ve always been one for the dramatics.” 

“I love you.” 

“And I love you.”

#eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x chubby reader #eddie munson x plus size reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #my boyfriend eddie #my writing

[eddies-ashtray]

When The Rain Starts To Pour ⌂ Chapter 1: The One Where Eddie Hates Paul

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Pairing: Eddie x Fem!Reader

Chapter Preview: 

“You smoke?” You ask, pointing at the cigarette held delicately between his index and middle fingers. You’re feeling a little awkward for some reason. Maybe because you’re not used to Eddie being silent. 

Eddie sniffs, says, “Yeah. Trying to quit.” Then snuffs out the half-smoked stick by crushing it against the concrete. He knows the habit might bother you. It bothers the others as well; Nancy has called it a ‘cancer stick’, Steve has often taken to flushing his cigs in protest, and Robin simply informs him that it stinks. He also knows that you have your date with Paul tonight, and as much as he dislikes the guy, he doesn’t want you smelling of smoke for your date. 

“Hm,” You hum, coming up beside him and leaning over the wall, a blanket wrapped tightly around your shoulders. You shiver and he has the urge to remove his leather jacket and wrap it around you. 

There’s a lull then, in which Eddie wonders why you might have come out here. From the sounds of your prior conversation with Robin, you need to start getting ready for your date soon. Why come out here just to stand around with him in the cold? 

CW: Brief discussion of financial struggles, vague talk of poor parental relationship (not necessarily abusive though), jealousy, loneliness, reader talks of being unhappy in her previous life circumstances, probably lots of bad jokes, poorly concealed Friends references, age gap (between reader and Paul), lots of tropes, non-canon compliant (duh—but also the upside-down does not exist), kinda pervy/douchey behaviour from Paul (nothing crazy though, just generally douchey).

 WC: 17.4k

 A/N: Ah! It’s finally here! I am so so so excited to share this first chapter with you after so long. I really hope it lives up to expectations. I just wanna note that while writing, I imagined the coffee shop and the apartments from Friends, so the decor and layout of each of those places are pretty much the exact same in my descriptions of them. Here’s a link to the apartments and coffee shop layouts if you’re interested. Also, I am going to do the best I can to make this era- and setting-appropriate, but keep in mind that I was not born in the 90s, nor am I from New York City (or the US in general), so there may be some inaccuracies. Anyway, enough of my rambling, happy reading!!

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Next Chapter [coming soon]

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“I’m so broke it’s not even funny! Like, seriously, look,” Robin exclaims before placing her mug of tea on the coffee table and proceeding to lean back awkwardly on the couch so she can turn her pockets out. They are indeed empty–a metaphorical sign of her poverty. 

Nancy clicks her tongue from her spot on a sage green chair next to the couch, reaching over to place a coaster under Robin’s steaming mug. 

It’s a relatively quiet Saturday afternoon at The Ugly Mug, only a couple other patrons milling about and occupying the various other seats around the small establishment. There’s a short woman with long, thin braids seated by the large front window and a stout man in a purple beanie sitting on one of the stools near the coffee bar. There’s also been the occasional patron coming in to pick up a to-go order–bringing in with them a rush of chilly November air–before rushing back out the dark wooden doors. 

“I’m fucking screwed. I can’t afford that big, stupid place alone,” Robin complains, retrieving her tea from the table after she’s tucked her pockets back into her jeans. 

“You could always get a second job,” Eddie offers from the opposite end of the couch, an oversized red mug half-full of very sugary coffee in hand. “Ya know, moonlight as a rockstar like some of the rest of us?” 

Robin rolls her eyes at his over-exaggeration and looks over at him as she replies, “Don’t you guys get, like, one gig per month?” 

“No…We get two gigs per month,” Eddie corrects like the disparity between her answer and his had been larger than it was. 

When he realizes that his correction wasn’t much of a correction, he adds, slightly more helpful this time, “But it’s better than just working in the restaurant. At least I get a little extra every month.” 

Robin sighs. “I guess…But it’d suck to double my exhaustion just to take another job I hate. At least your second job is something you love...I wish I could get, like, a raise or something,” She complains, head falling back against the couch in frustration. 

From beside her, Steve’s hand lands on her shoulder, placing his own mug of coffee on the table before doing so. “Why don’t you-”

“No,” She replies before he can finish. 

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Steve defends and Robin lolls her head to the side to shoot him a deadpan stare. 

“I am not putting an ad in the newspaper,” She states plainly. 

“It’s a strategy! How else would you find a roommate?” 

“I agree with Robin,” Nancy pipes up from Robin’s other side. “It’s not safe, Steve. There’s so many freaks out there; you don’t know who you’re inviting into your home.”

“I live with a freak and I’m fine,” Steve jokes. 

“Hey!” Eddie exclaims, mildly offended, and slaps Steve on the arm halfheartedly. “It’s been six years, Harrington, when are you gonna stop calling me that?”

“How about never!” Steve bites back childishly. All too quickly their civilized conversation about Robin’s living situation devolves into an immature argument between two grown men. It’s almost surprising how they manage to live together and not tear each other’s heads off. Despite their silly arguments though, they surprisingly get along quite well–most of the time. 

“Hey! Can we get back on topic, please?” Nancy interrupts, mildly anxious about the eyes of the other patrons on them. Normally, she wouldn’t let others’ judgment get to her; she’s aware that she hangs around a pretty rowdy group of adults, but it’s so quiet in here today and she’d like to keep it that way. 

“Actually, I’m perfectly content right in the middle of this. I could use a distraction,” Robin says, settling into the couch beside the two bickering men.

Sighing contentedly, Robin gets comfortable and shuts her eyes, the soft light of the café causing the back of her eyelids to glow a soft orange. The boys’ bickering continues to her right as Nancy reaches over from her left to squeeze her hand in reassurance. Robin opens her eyes again to turn to her and gives her a tight-lipped smile. 

“I need a roommate,” she concludes, tone solemn. Nancy’s lips part, about to impart some advice when-

The small golden bell above the door tinkles its charming chime as it opens, and in rushes the late November bite, and a frazzled-looking young woman. As she enters the space, she makes such a commotion that Robin startles and turns to take a look at who’s causing the ruckus. The others turn to the door as well (including Steve and Eddie whose bickering has now ceased altogether due to the interruption). 

In her tow is one large suitcase, in her hand is a large black trash bag (the plastic material stretching into a grey colour in some areas), and on her back is a large backpack (stuffed so full that the biggest pocket isn’t even zipped all the way). 

It must have begun to rain at some point during their hours’ long stay at the coffee shop because the woman appears to be quite damp without an umbrella or hood on her jacket. 

Finally, Robin's eyes land on the woman’s face. In a shock, she realizes that she recognizes her. However, seeing as none of her friends are acquainted with the woman, they’re rather occupied by the seemingly magical appearance of this person who looks to be in need of a place to stay at the exact moment that Robin expressed her need for a roommate. The four of them gawk at the woman with the luggage for a moment until someone can’t help himself and must break the silence to acknowledge the absurdity of the situation. 

“And I want to be rich and famous!” Eddie exclaims, gesturing widely to the door. Unfortunately, his wish does not manifest as Robin’s had. 

Robin passes her tea to Steve, who takes it without question as she stands from her spot on the couch, passing Nancy as she rounds it. The woman is at the counter now, though as Robin nears her, the woman is not ordering a coffee or any other warm beverage. 

“Excuse me? Do you know-” You begin, but before you can finish asking the café employee about your friend's whereabouts, you feel a soft tap on your shoulder. 

 “Y/N?” 

Immediately, you recognize her voice and turn around. Many summers and phone calls throughout your childhood and teen years had familiarized you with it. 

Once you’re face-to-face, relief releases the tension you’d been holding in your shoulders. After over 12 hours of driving across the country (maybe more, you stopped keeping track at some point), countless times getting lost (your sense of direction completely failing you, even with the aid of a map and any living soul you came across), many pit stops at dank, shady rest stops, and a lot of fast food later, you’re just happy to see a familiar face. 

“Robin! Thank God! I went to your apartment-” you begin, eager to recount the story of your travels. 

“My apartment?” Robin asks, confused that you’d known her address. 

“-but you weren’t there! And I almost left to look for you myself, but then your neighbour saw me knocking and told me I could probably find you here-”

“My neighbour?”

“-and I thought, ‘It’s worth a shot,’, so I dragged all my shit back down the stairs and through the stupid rain and you’re here! But, come to think of it, I don’t even know why I brought all this stuff up with me instead of just leaving it in the car. Like, that was sort of presumptuous of me to show up at your door with a bunch of luggage, but I guess it probably wouldn’t have been a great idea to leave it in that parking garage anyway,” You finish your rambling, out of breath now and slightly lightheaded. 

That was likely an inappropriate way to greet her after all this time, but you find that you’re exhausted from your travels and electrified with adrenaline from your impulsive decision to come to New York. 

At first, it was nice to get out and stretch your legs after spending half a day in your car, and walk around this new city in search of Robin’s apartment, but now you could just collapse right here on this scuffed hardwood floor. 

Robin’s brows furrow as she tries to process your word vomit, but still cannot find an answer for her biggest question. Though she’s concerned that one of her neighbour’s so easily gave away her location to a stranger who was banging on her door and curious to know how you’d found her apartment, she’s more interested in your story for now. In learning what got you here after all this time.

“Why are you here? I mean-it-it’s great to see you, but, um-why don’t you sit down and tell me what happened?” Robin suggests, leading you gently towards the couch. 

“Okay. Yeah, that sounds great,” You agree, navigating carefully around velvet-upholstered stools with your bags in hand. 

A man with long hair and tattoos stands from the couch to take a seat on a chair to his right in order to accommodate you as Robin helps you place your bags on the floor next to the woman with the curly hair and high cheekbones. 

Finally, you sit down on the plush orange couch next to a happy looking guy with gorgeous, voluminous hair. He smiles at you kindly once you’re settled in and you breathe out, willing yourself to relax so you can attempt to coherently explain your situation to your friend and, apparently, these strangers. 

Their eyes on you make you nervous, but once Robin takes her seat next to you, you feel more at ease. 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Robin reassures as she tucks her legs underneath herself on the couch. You nod, taking one more deep breath and collecting your thoughts before beginning. 

“So-I know this is, like, totally crazy that I just kinda showed up here out of the blue after, what? 5, 6 years?” You begin nervously, looking to Robin for confirmation on how long it’s been since you last saw each other. She nods after turning her body to face you. 

“But I just–I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like this but–I felt like I was on autopilot or something, just kind of drifting through my days: going to work at a boring job with boring people, coming home to my shitty apartment, going to sleep, and doing it all over again and again and again.”

In your periphery, you notice a few of them nodding in agreement and feel relieved at their earnest validation. It gives you the strength to continue your story. 

“And one day I guess I woke up? I realized that I hated where I was, who I was with, what I was doing, what I wasn’t doing. I just sort of…panicked. I knew I couldn’t stay there–in that life and that apartment cause it was, like, a total shithole-”

“Why was it a shithole?” A voice interrupts from your right; The One With The Tattoos. You’d been so into your story for those 30-some-odd seconds that you nearly forgot that it was more than just Robin you were venting to. He seems genuinely curious and well-meaning, so you’re not perturbed by his interruption, only surprised, which is what causes you to pause before answering his question. 

In the moment you take before you respond, you clock the bat tattoo on his forearm (though you’d recognized his inked skin earlier, you hadn’t examined the art close enough to discern what the tattoos were of), among a smattering of many other patchwork tattoos, and hope you remember to ask him about it later (if there is a later with these people–there’s all the chance that Robin could send you packing). 

Finally, you shake off your surprise and respond, “Well, aside from the fact that my apartment was definitely mold-infested and my building had a serious rat problem, my landlord was a total creep.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” He agrees, brows furrowing.

“Yeah. So, I just couldn’t live there anymore, or go back to work, and I definitely was not about to go back home to live with my mother–phone calls once a week are already more than I can handle, I don’t think I could take her constant scrutiny for more than 30 minute increments,” You explain, scoffing lightly. “But, um-” You stutter, looking down at your lap and pulling at the skin of your hand absentmindedly. 

“Anyway…I panicked and I decided that I needed to get out of there as soon as possible, so two weeks ago, I put in my two weeks at work and pretty much packed up my whole life into my car and started driving without a destination…And then I remembered hearing that you’d moved to New York a few years back,” You recall, gesturing to Robin, who smiles warmly back at you.

“So I looked you up in the phone book and when I found your name I just felt like it was the right thing? Which I know sounds kinda kooky, but it was the first good feeling I’d had about something in a long time, so I just decided that I needed to trust it,” You conclude, squeezing your hands in your lap. “And I know it’s a lot to ask of you, especially since it’s been so long, but…is there any chance at all that you might need a roommate?” 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

When you step inside the apartment, you immediately love the place. For one, it’s bigger than your old apartment and even has a pretty sizable balcony (that can only be accessed through a window). To your left is the kitchen with exposed brick, a simple small table with four mismatched chairs surrounding it in the middle. 

Just past the modest kitchen is the living area, which is just as eclectically decorated as the kitchen with a sofa, a fluffy looking armchair and an armless chair adjacent to each other, a coffee table, and a television set sitting atop a sideboard. Two doors are on either side of the living room. To the left of the living room is a large window (complete with a cozy looking window seat) which looks out onto the balcony. 

You marvel at the place as Robin leads through the apartment, the rest of the crew following in behind you two before the door slams shut and you enter what appears to be a bedroom slash storage space. Despite the bed in the middle, there are things strewn about on the floor, seemingly haphazardly tossed in here and forgotten about. 

After introductions to the group (you now know their names and the fact that Eddie and Steve live across the hall, while Nancy lives a few blocks away), Robin had informed you the available room at her place might be a bit of a mess since she’s been using it as storage space for a while. The only guests she has live close by enough that sleepovers were a rarity. 

“So, this’ll be your room,” Robin explains, rolling your bursting suitcase inside it. Steve enters last, dropping your trash bag full of clothes to the yellow-ish hardwood floor and you do the same with your backpack. 

It’s a fairly nice room; a simple square spacious enough to fit the queen size bed and a side table, while also allowing extra room still for a chest of drawers and vanity (which you will eventually add to the room). 

Though anything without rats, mold, and a creepy landlord would be an improvement, this place is a definite upgrade from your last and you find yourself containing a joyous squeal as you take it all in. You’ve never been a fan of change–enjoying the comfort of familiarity instead–and have always agonized over every decision you’ve made, but for once, you have no doubts about your decision to come here. This actually feels like the first real decision you have ever made. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

When Steve opens the building's front door, the smell of fresh rain and pavement hangs in the air, an oddly nostalgic scent. It reminds you of childhood, of early mornings at summer camp with Robin. 

The sun hangs low and bright orange in the sky–it’s getting late so you’ll probably only be able to make one trip to your car and back before the sun goes down, and then have to collect the rest of your things tomorrow. 

Though you grabbed as much as you could carry from your car (which remains parked in a garage about three blocks away) before going in search of Robin’s apartment, you obviously couldn’t take everything with you, so the bags you just dropped off at your new place were only a fraction of the things packed away in your vehicle. 

Robin’s friends kindly offered to help you drag the rest of your belongings back to her apartment. Since none of them have a car, and it is apparently nearly impossible to find parking in this city, you have no choice but to carry everything back by hand. 

You lead the way to the parking garage, Robin at your side and the rest of the gang following behind you. 

As you walk through the city, past storefronts, HELP WANTED signs in windows, and people with briefcases in long coats and giant scarves walking briskly like they have someplace important to be, you’re reminded of an imperative piece of information.

“Robin?” You say as you cross the street. 

“Hm?”

“I don’t have a job here.” 

The whole reason Robin was looking for a new roommate in the first place was because she can no longer afford her place on her own. And you, as her new roommate, have been recruited to help solve that problem for her. But without a job, and a bank account that is less than impressive, you’re on the clock to find a new job–and fast. 

“You can work at Hannigan’s with Eddie and I!” She offers excitedly, her hand smacking your arm in her enthusiasm. Sorry! She apologizes quickly before continuing: “We’ve been working there forever, I can put in a good word for you with the owner.” 

“That sounds great…But what’s ‘Hannigan’s’?” You ask, because in her haste to offer a solution to your little problem, she had left out vital information. Eddie pipes up from the rear and steps forward so he can walk in step with you and Robin as he answers your question. 

The way the sun hits him from behind outlines his body in a soft orange halo, causing his long hair to shine in the early evening light. This lighting softens his features, making him look angelic and pretty as his pale skin glows. You find yourself content watching him as he speaks.  

“It’s one of those fancy upscale restaurants. The tips are usually pretty good, but sometimes you gotta endure some light harassment to get them,” Eddie explains, and when he sees the apprehensive look on your face, he jumps to reassure you: “Sometimes we get to take home leftovers though.”

“By ‘get to take’, he means steal,” Steve corrects and you look to Robin for confirmation.

She just shrugs. “They’d go to waste anyway.” 

“I guess I’ll just have to invest in some armour, then,” You say, implying that physical armour could somehow protect you from rude customers. Eddie smiles at that, a dimple carving into his cheek. Briefly, you note how charming his smile is, but before you can stare too long, Robin grabs your attention by lightly elbowing you. 

“Don’t worry, snooty rich people can’t be as bad as Harrington's snotty children,” She says. 

“Oh! You have kids?” You wonder, turning to Steve as he strides along casually a few steps behind you, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets. 

“No, not yet. I work at one of the preschools in the area,” Steve supplies. 

“Oh, nice. You like working with kids?” You wonder. 

His answer is apparent on his face which lights up instantly at the question. “Love it. The kids are really great, and so much more capable than people give them credit for! People are quick to dismiss kids, especially four and five year olds, but they understand more than you think.” Steve rambles, his passion clear. 

“Hey, is this the garage?” Robin asks, bringing your attention back to the task at hand. 

It is. The place you left your car a mere two hours ago, nervous and unsure of what came next. But now you have a new place, something akin to a job offer, and three kind strangers and one old friend by your side. 

Once you reach your car–which is parked all the way on the top floor–you unlock the back seat doors. 

“Okay, so, let’s try to grab all the stuff from the front and maybe a few things from the back?” You suggest, then move to unlock the trunk of your car where the boys stand. 

“Jesus. How did you pack all this shit in here?” Eddie asks, marvelling at the trunk of your car which is stuffed full of most of your belongings. 

“Are we about to find your kitchen sink packed away in here, or what?” Steve adds. 

“Uh, I don’t know, really,” You say, answering Eddie’s question. “I packed it all up so quickly I didn’t really notice how much stuff it actually was, but it’s like my entire apartment is stuffed into this trunk.” You say, and it kind of is. You’re surprised your trunk could even shut with how crowded it is. 

Robin and Nancy grab the remaining bags from the back seat, while you and the guys grab a couple boxes from the trunk. Then you lock up and start back to your new apartment. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

Your first thought when you gain consciousness in your bed is a thought that no one would ever want to have—especially not before eight in the morning. Someone has broken into my apartment. 

Your eyes shoot open, staring up at the ceiling–your new ceiling! In your new apartment! That you’ve lived in now for a solid 48 hours. But your time here may be cut short if the intruder has plans that involve you and a knife.

You know for a fact that it is not Robin because you share a wall with her and can hear her shuffling around her room getting ready for the day, and the person out in your living room right now definitely opened your front door and is now shuffling around out there.

Thud. 

What the fuck was that?

Most people in your situation might freeze in fear and simply lie in wait for the intruder to come to them, accepting their fate. Others might run and hide. But you, on this random Tuesday in November at 7:43AM were apparently a force to be reckoned with. The Old You might have chosen one of the two above options, but New York You–the new, and hopefully improved, you–has a job interview today and are not going to let some intruder stop you from making it. 

You are not about to have your fresh start end so soon. So, you carefully pull the covers off of your body and as quietly as possible get out of bed.

Inching slowly towards the door, you decide you first need a weapon to defend yourself. There’s no use going out there and meeting the intruder if you can’t protect yourself against them. However, since you’re not in the kitchen, you don’t have access to a knife or any other kitchen utensil that could be wielded as a weapon. And since many of your belongings are still packed away in bags and boxes scattered around the room, you don’t exactly have many options. 

Quickly, you grab the first object you see that could potentially be used to incapacitate the intruder. Then, you very slowly reach for the handle of your door. 

Twisting the handle as gently as you can manage so as not to draw attention to yourself, you begin to open the door, revealing an inch of the kitchen, then another couple inches which reveals a sliver of the living room. Heart racing wildly in your chest, you decide it’s now or never. 

Bursting from your room while brandishing your weapon of choice, you let out what some may describe as a battle cry, startling the intruder in the living room. Startling them so much that they bang their head on the coffee table when they try to get up from where they’re laying on their stomach on the floor between the couch and table. 

You don’t have a great view of the intruder from where you stand right outside your door, so you slowly step toward them where they lie. 

The intruder groans in pain, forehead falling to rest on the rug below them as they bring a hand to the back of their head. A head with long, messy curls that you vaguely recognize. 

Oh. Oh, God. 

“Eddie?” You question meekly, lowering your weapon as waves of guilt crash over you. 

“Uh-huh,” He replies weakly, voice muffled by the rug he’s practically eating. 

“Oh, God,” You moan before placing your weapon on the table and rushing to his side. He lifts his head then, and you help him up onto the couch. He groans again as he sits back into the plush cushions and all you can do is apologize. 

Taking a seat on the coffee table, you grimace at his grimace. “I am so sorry, I thought you were an intruder,” You explain, squeezing your fingers in your hand. Your heart still races in your chest. 

“It’s-It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Kinda did it to myself,” Eddie jokes, still rubbing the back of his head. You nod once, biting your lip, still feeling guilty because, yeah, he technically did do it himself, but he wouldn’t have if you hadn’t stormed out of your room like a crazy person and screamed bloody murder.

As your heart slows to its normal pace, you begin to wonder what he was doing here in the first place—laying on the living room rug for that matter.

“Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly were you doing on the floor?” You ask, finally taking in his dress now that the situation has deescalated some. He wears red and black plaid pyjama bottoms and a white tank top so see-through that you catch a glimpse of dark ink beneath the material. The sight steals your breath for a moment. 

“I was, uh, looking for my rings. Thought they might have fallen under the table,” Eddie supplies, drawing your eyes back up to his face. His eyes are warm and soft. God, you don’t think you’ve ever seen eyes so large and round. He looks like a baby deer or something. A cute, injured baby deer. 

“Oh. Did Robin let you in?” You ask, because it doesn’t matter that he looks like a baby deer, what matters is that it is very possible that he simply let himself into your apartment and you’re not sure you’re comfortable with that just yet. I mean, you’ve only just met him and the others two days ago, and have only seen them one other time since then when they had come by to help clear out your new room. 

Eddie looks like the guilty one now as he replies, “Uh, no…?”

“Sorry,” He apologizes quickly. “Let me just…try this again.” 

You’re not sure exactly what he means until he stands and begins walking backwards in the direction of the front door, all the while making strange noises with his mouth that somewhat resemble the sound of rewinding a tape. He’s literally starting over, resetting, going back in time to try this again because he saw you weren’t comfortable with his uninvited presence in your apartment.

All you can do is sit and simply stare at the strange, yet comical display as Eddie awkwardly reaches behind him, opens the door, reverses out into the hallway, and shuts the door with a slam. 

Too stunned to laugh for a moment, you sit in silence for approximately five seconds, thinking that might be the end of it, before a knock sounds at the front door. 

You hesitate, staring at the door strangely. But you’re intrigued now by his strange display, wanting to know how it ends. So you stand and stroll over to the door, opening it to, of course, reveal Eddie, who smiles brightly at you. 

“Good morning,” He greets politely. “You mind if I come in?” 

Stifling a giggle, you nod. “Of course.” And open the door wider, stepping to the side to allow him space to enter. He enters swiftly and you shut the door.

Eddie saunters over to the living room once again, about to resume the search for his rings when he spots your weapon of choice sitting innocently on the coffee table where you left it. He pauses and stares at it for a moment, tilting his head, and you stare at his back as you remain in the kitchen, watching as his dark curls shift and fall to one side, cascading over his shoulders. 

The presence of the weapon is new to him since it obviously was not there when he entered the apartment the first time. He also hadn’t seen it even when he’d gotten up from the floor because you’d sat on the coffee table, and therefore blocked his view of the object. 

Now, Eddie wanders over to the coffee table, gingerly picking the weapon up like it’s some sort of precious antique, then spins around smoothly to face you. Holding it loosely at one end, he lets it dangle just above the hardwood floor.

Eddie raises his eyebrows at you. You stare back at him, unsure of what’s happening. 

“What?” You wonder. 

“What were you gonna use this for?” Eddie asks, tone humorous, and dark eyes sparkling with mirth. 

“To-to defend myself against the intruder,” You answer, suddenly feeling strangely self-conscious about your choice of weapon. 

“With a bathrobe tie?” Eddie exclaims, shaking the flimsy terry cloth material around so the long fabric wiggles in the air.  

“Y-yes!” You defend weakly.

“What were you gonna do? Spa-day me to death?” 

“No! I-I thought it could be used to, like—choke someone?” You say, cringing as the words come out of your mouth. 

Eddie barks a laugh. But you can tell he's not laughing at you. He simply finds the situation and your choice amusing. In the little time you’ve spent around Eddie, you don’t get the impression that he’s mean-spirited or judgmental. The exact opposite actually–to you, he’s only been accepting and kind. 

“It’s creative, I’ll give you that. But not very practical,” Eddie critiques.

“My robe was hanging on my door, okay? It’s not like I had a knife in there or something,” You attempt to defend, playing along. 

“Still!” He laughs incredulously. 

“Let me get this straight: first, you break into my apartment, and then I very kindly invite you back in, and you insult my choice of weapon?” 

Eddie seems to mull this over, recalling the events in his mind to confirm that, yes, that is indeed what has happened.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so…Ya know, you should really talk to Harrington. He’s the king of wielding random objects as weapons. When we first moved here, he thought we were getting broken into all the time, and this one time he grabbed our floor lamp and-” 

Before he can finish his story though, Robin comes out from her bedroom, dressed in some jeans and a striped long-sleeve. She makes it a few steps before she notices Eddie and you standing almost ten feet apart in the living room together, both of you still dressed in your pyjamas, and one of you grasping a purple bathrobe tie. Robin stares for a moment like she’s suspicious of something, shifting her eyes from you to Eddie and back again. They land on Eddie when she slowly asks, “What’s going on?” 

“I was looking for my rings. You seen ‘em?” He explains, effectively diverting her attention from the strangeness of the situation. 

“Yeah,” She nods, walking towards the kitchen again. “In the dish by the door.” 

“Cool. Thanks,” Eddie says, walking towards you now. Before he walks past you to retrieve his rings though, he takes hold of the other end of the bathrobe tie, pulling it taught, and presenting it to you with a slight bow. “Your sword, m’lady.” 

Grabbing the tie from him, you thank him, and he continues toward the dish by the door. Eddie’s theatrical and kind of strange, but instead of weirding you out, you find that those traits endear you to him. You’re sick of boring people and to finally be around someone who is so unapologetically themselves is refreshing. Especially someone as interesting as Eddie. 

Turning around to the kitchen where Eddie is carefully rooting through the dish for his rings and Robin is grabbing a juice from the fridge, you realize something strange about what just happened. Though surprisingly, none of it has to do with Eddie. 

“Um-if you were in your room getting ready, how did you not hear my scream?” You ask, because you doubt that she just didn’t hear it. You were pretty loud. 

After taking a sip from the small plastic bottle, Robin explains, “Huh. I guess I’ve learned to sort of tune out the noise. Living across the hall from two idiots who barge into my apartment without warning has kind of become my new normal. Loud, sudden noises aren’t really surprising anymore.”

“It’s worrying how desensitized you are,” You reply, mostly joking. 

Robin takes another sip of her juice and shrugs. “Don’t worry, you’ll get there someday.” 

“Ya know, I really hope I don’t.” 

Robins snorts, approaching the counter where Eddie is still picking his rings from the mess of keys and other small trinkets in the dish, and crouches down to retrieve her tote bag from the shelf below the counter. You ball up and toss your robe tie in the general direction of your room before Robin pops back up and turns to grab her juice from the table behind her. 

“Okay, so I gotta go run some errands, but I should be back just after your interview,” She informs and you nod. Eddie goes to leave as well, opening the front door as Robin tells you, “Good luck, you’ll be great!” Then heads for the door as well. 

Gratitude swells in your chest. Robin has been more than kind to you these past two days. Before Saturday, it had been years since you last spoke.

You and Robin were best friends at the summer camp you attended as children and remained close as you entered your teen years and later became camp counsellors at the same camp. You were the first person she ever came out to and it often felt like you shared a brain; for many years she was your sister. 

Despite your living hours and hours away, you and Robin maintained your friendship during the non-summer months; talking on the phone often and mailing letters back and forth. 

Eventually, though, your individual lives got busy and neither of you had the time to maintain the long-distance friendship or attend summer camp as counsellors anymore. Phone calls decreased and letters stopped being written and mailed, until eventually, your friendship fizzled out. There was no major falling out of any sort; the end of your friendship was simply the result of poor management on both ends. 

You often thought about calling her up to see how she was, but it wasn’t until last week that you made the impulsive decision to contact her again. And you’re glad you did. She’s given you a new home and she even helped you set up your job interview at Hannigan’s. You’re grateful that she’s given you the opportunity to start fresh in this new city with new, interesting people, but much of your gratitude comes from the chance you now both have to breathe life back into your cherished friendship.

“Hey,” You call, causing Robin to pause and turn to you before she exits the apartment, brows expectantly raised. “I know I’ve already said it so many times, but I just want to say thank you one more time for everything you’ve done for me these past two days. And I know it’s been a long time since we’ve been friends…but you’re a really good friend.” 

Robin smiles softly at you. “You’re a really good friend too. You always have been.” 

It’s then you rush to her at the door where you embrace her in the biggest hug and hope the action translates the magnitude of your thankfulness and love for her. 

“I’ll see you later,” She says after you part, walking out into the hallway. 

You sigh.

It has been one hectic morning, and your interview starts at 10:30, so you should probably start getting ready now. But Eddie lingers in the hallway, just outside his front door. 

Before you can even say anything, he preemptively apologizes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, like, eavesdrop, but you have your interview at Hannigan’s today?” 

You’re not mad though. Nothing you said was a secret. And so far, you trust Eddie. He cares about the way people around him are feeling and takes action to remedy situations where people aren’t happy or comfortable. That much is clear from this morning. It’s why you don’t dismiss him and leave to get ready. He’s a good person. 

“Yeah, I do. Why?”

Eddie takes a couple steps forward so he’s standing just inside your apartment once again. 

“Would it help if I gave you some tips? I’ve been working there for a while and I kinda know what they’re looking for, so-”

“That would be great!” You exclaim, because you really need this job if you want to continue living here. 

Eddie just smiles brightly at your reaction as you say, “Just let me get dressed and then I’ll knock on your door when I’m ready?” 

“Sure,” Eddie nods, grabbing the edge of the door on his way out to close it. 

“Oh! And Eddie?” You call out just before the door shuts. 

“Yeah?” He responds, popping his head back in the apartment. 

“I really am so sorry about this morning.” 

“It’s alright. I’m sorry for breaking in…Although you seemed pretty unprepared, so, yaknow, this was probably a good learning experience for you,” He teases, that same sparkle in his eyes that had appeared when he was questioning your weapon returning. 

You bite your lip over a smile as Eddie winks at you and disappears behind the door, the heavy wood slamming softly shut. 

Getting ready in record time, you end up knocking on Eddie’s door across the hall approximately one hour later, leaving more than enough time for Eddie to give you interview tips and for you to walk over to Hannigan’s to arrive early. 

As you stand in the hall awaiting his answer, you feel oddly giddy, a swarm of nervous butterflies fluttering rapidly in your belly. Briefly, you think your butterflies can be explained on account of Eddie making you nervous. But you bat that thought away as you hear footsteps approaching and remind yourself that it’s more likely that your upcoming job interview has caused the butterflies. 

When Eddie answers his door, you find he’s also gotten dressed in the hour since you’ve seen each other. He wears a simple black t-shirt with a band name and logo you don’t recognize on the front with a long-sleeve underneath, and some light-wash jeans. His hair is noticeably more tame, his curls flowing neatly over his shoulders. Eddie also wears the silver rings he was searching for this morning; three on one hand, and one on the other. The fluttering in your belly intensifies for a moment, but again, you bat them away. 

“You wanna come in or are we gonna do this out in the hall?” Eddie jokes when you make no move to enter his apartment, unaware of this strange battle you’re having within yourself at his doorstep. 

Shaking yourself free of your thoughts, you mutter a quick apology and take his joke as an invitation to enter. As you do, you realize this is the first time you’ve been inside his apartment. Which isn’t a surprising fact. You’ve only been here for two full days, and haven’t really left your apartment much since then.

His apartment is smaller and you might describe it as drab, but their decor choices are vibrant in their own way. 

The kitchen is immediately to your right as you enter, a table to your left, and as you wander further into the room, a counter separates the entrance slash kitchen area from the living room. In the living room sits two black recliners and a large wood entertainment centre with a television set. On either side of this are two closed doors. 

The far right side of the apartment has two windows and a red sofa sitting beneath it. Beside that is another door, this one open (revealing tiled floor and a closed shower curtain). 

There isn’t much in the way of wall decoration (aside from a lone dart board hanging on the wall and a few posters), but on some of the shelves of the entertainment centre are framed photographs. Some of the photos feature what appears to be two younger versions of Steve and Eddie, presumably taken in high school. In one photo, Eddie has his arm around Steve’s shoulder and they both hold beer cans in their hands. Eddie smiles cheekily for the camera, while Steve puts on a faux grimace at his friends close proximity. 

Other photos feature boys who appear to be much younger than Steve and Eddie (possibly siblings?) and there are also photos that include Robin and Nancy, some recent and others clearly taken years ago. Another includes Steve and Eddie carrying a boy with curly hair–who wears a graduation cap and gown–on their shoulders, all of them smiling widely. You can tell it's candid as they all appear to be laughing and unaware of the camera photographing them. 

“Who’s this?” You ask curiously, pointing at the photo as you turn around, finding that Eddie hasn’t moved from his spot at the door and has likely been watching you inspect his living area this whole time. Suddenly you feel like you’re intruding. “Sorry, I-”

“No worries. You can look. That’s what they’re there for,” He shrugs, finally joining you in the living room. 

At your side now, Eddie inspects the photo you pointed to and a fond smile crosses his face. His side profile is soft, and you spy just a hint of shaven stubble on his cheeks. It distracts you for a moment. 

“Dustin,” Eddie says after a beat. 

“What?” You ask dumbly, now preoccupied with the freckles you’ve spotted that dot his pale skin lightly. 

You’ve never been this close to him before. All you’d have to do to get right into his personal space is take one short step forward. But of course you won’t do that. Why would you? 

Eddie looks from the photograph to you. “In the picture,” He explains, nodding to the framed image. “That’s Dustin. It was taken at his high school graduation, like, two years ago? He’s a good kid…Well, he’s not really a kid anymore, but I guess it still feels like that sometimes.” 

“How do you know him?” You hear yourself say. The kid looks like he’s about five years younger than Eddie and Steve, so naturally you’re curious about how they know him. 

You’re supposed to be here getting pointers for your job interview, but instead, you find that you’re more interested in the details of Eddie’s life. 

“Uh, we were in high school together and I had this club that he was a part of,” Eddie explains, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“What kind of club?” You wonder, electing to ignore the fact that he somehow attended high school with this kid. 

He seems reluctant to provide you with an answer to your question. Up until now, he’s been a pretty open book; someone who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. But now all of the sudden, he’s guarded? 

“I won’t judge, yaknow,” You reassure, because you won’t, but also because his reluctance to reveal what sort of club he ran makes you all the more curious to find out. 

Eddie side eyes you, squinting. He must determine that your remark is genuine because he straightens up from where he’d bent slightly to view the photo and provides you with an answer. 

“Ever heard of DnD? Dungeons and Dragons?” 

You furrow your brows for a moment, vaguely recognizing the name, but not remembering why. 

“Oh!” You exclaim after a beat. “Yes! Was that the one that people were freaking out about years ago cause they thought it caused Satanism?”

Eddie snaps his fingers as he responds, “That’s the one.” 

Then, he glances back at the photograph, and you think you can almost make out memories behind his eyes. Fond ones. You lean forward slightly, trying to catch his eyes again.

“You still play?” 

Your question shakes him out of his momentary reverie, and he looks to you once again. “Not as much as I used to…But Dustin and the other guys and I try to organize a couple meetings throughout the year. It’s hard though because everyone’s kinda spread out now. And busy.”

His tone is wistful as he continues to glance around at the photos sitting on the shelf. Had you just upset him? First, you assist him in banging his head against your coffee table and now you’re potentially causing him some emotional pain too! Good going. 

You’re about to apologize or change the subject, but Eddie speaks before you can. “Anyway! We should probably talk about your interview now. How long do we have?”

Looking around the room to find a clock, you spot one by the door. The little hand points toward the nine and the large hand points toward the six. 

“About a half hour before I should get going,” You respond, turning back to Eddie as he takes a seat on one of the recliners behind you. You sit down as well. 

“Great. So…do you have any questions first?” Eddie asks, unsure where to start. 

“Uh,” You say, trying to remember any questions you had, but you can’t seem to recall any as you roll up the sleeves of your thick sweater, the ink on your wrist and forearms revealed as the fabric is pulled back. 

Immediately, Eddie’s eyes shoot down to the action and for the first time, he catches sight of the ink.

“I didn’t know you had tattoos,” He remarks, like it’s something he should have known. As if it’s been more than 48 hours since you met and it’s ridiculous that he didn’t know. 

“Oh. Yeah,” You say absentmindedly, glancing down at your arms. 

“Tip number one: your tattoos are sick, but at Hannigan’s, they aren’t exactly appreciated, so you should make sure you cover them up.”

“Gotcha,” You say, rolling your sleeves back down the length of your arms.

Suddenly you’re reminded of your first day when you spotted his inked arms. The seven bats decorating his forearm. “Um…Yours are really cool by the way,” You compliment. 

Then, “When did you get your first one?” You ask, veering further off topic. You can’t seem to stop yourself and you don’t know why. 

“Uh…heh,” Eddie huffs a short laugh, almost as if he’d forgotten until this very second when you’d asked him. “I think I was, like, 16, 17? I did a really shitty stick-and-poke on my leg–the initials of my band name: Corroded Coffin.”

Every new thing you learn about Eddie intrigues you. Of course this long-haired, tattoo-having, ring-wearing, Dungeons and Dragons-playing 20-something would also have been in a band. Your surprise is likely evident on your face.

“You’ll have to come to one of our gigs sometime,” Eddie invites casually, as if it’s not the most cool thing to say in the world. Eddie didn’t used to be in a band, Eddie is in a band! 

“You’re still in the band?” 

“Yeah, the other guys live out here too, and we do regular gigs a few times a week…but, um, what about you? When did you get your first tattoo?” 

Still gaping at him, you must pick your jaw up off the ground before you can respond. Cool and humble. How is he real?

“Oh, um, I was 18…I actually got it cause I knew my mom would hate it and it would probably piss her off,” You say, a little embarrassed by that fact. You don’t know why you reveal the information to him in the first place. Maybe because for some odd reason you know he won’t tell anyone. Even still—his story was way cooler. Especially since it preceded the reveal that he’s in a band. But maybe that’s also part of the reason you share it. You want him to think you’re just as interesting as he is—though you’re not sure who would be impressed by the information you just shared. 

“Did it work?” Eddie asks. To your surprise, he seems invested in your answer, leaning over the edge of the recliner's armrest. As if what you’ve said was equally as interesting as his response. 

“Did what work?” 

“Was she pissed?” 

“Oh!” You say, like a total ditz. “Um, yeah. Big time. She hates tattoos.” 

“Is that why you have all of them?”

“No, I only got the first one to make her mad. And then when I realized I really loved it, I just kept getting them,” You respond, pushing your sleeve back slightly to brush the one on your wrist with your thumb. 

When you look back up at him he’s smiling softly at you, but he quickly averts his gaze and his eyes find the clock on the wall. “Shit,” He says, a little panicked. “We only have 20 minutes.”

Whipping your head around to glance at the clock, the hands confirm that it’s 20 to 10 and you’ve barely discussed what you came here to discuss. 

“I guess we’ll just have to lightning round this shit,” Eddie says, determination set in his tone. 

And you do lightning round this shit. In just over 20 minutes, Eddie tells you as much as he can about the owner of the restaurant—Cordelia—who is going to be interviewing you. He tells you how to sit, what to say, how to say it, anything and everything he can think of to help you secure a job at this place. 

As you two stand and Eddie walks you to the door, he shoots you a few final pointers.

 “Obviously it helps that you have experience working at an upscale restaurant, so, um, she’ll probably ask you about that too,” Eddie says, and you nod.

When you reach the door, you turn to him. 

“Thank you so much for your help,” You say sincerely. “You really didn’t have to do this, so it means a lot that you did.” 

“Of course I did,” Eddie replies, like it's just that simple. Your brows furrow. “You’re a member of this party now, and as a fellow party member, it’s my duty to help other party members out when they’re in need.”

“A ‘party member’?” 

You’re sure you catch the faintest blush across his cheeks from your question.

“Sorry, uh, I guess it just means you’re one of us now…A friend,” Eddie explains. 

“A friend,” You repeat. And you find the word involuntarily pulls your lips into a soft smile. 

“Anyway, you should probably get going,” Eddie reminds with another glance at the clock. 

“Yeah, okay,” You agree, turning to open the door.  “Oh, um, where did you say the restaurant was again?” You ask when you’re out in the hallway. 

“It’s um…You know what? Why don’t I just walk you there?” Eddie offers. 

“Really? You don’t mind?” 

“Not at all,” Eddie says with a charming smile. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

Cordelia was an intense woman. Eddie had warned you of this, though you had wildly underestimated the level of intensity the woman embodied. She was tall, and wore her long, black hair up in a sleek ponytail, not a flyaway in sight. Her office was large and so neat that you thought it looked like some sort of staged set for a decor magazine. 

During your interview, you learned exactly one thing about Cordelia: Cordelia does not fuck around. She did not have time for exchanging pleasantries, and a simple handshake and a “take a seat” was the only introduction she provided you with before she began the interview, which mostly felt more like a police interrogation than a job interview. 

By the end, you thought you felt good about how it went, but Cordelia was hard to read. You never once saw her smile or provide you with any kind of verbal or non-verbal communication that would indicate that she was impressed with your resume or any of your answers to her questions.

It was likely one of the most strange job interviews you had ever had. It didn’t necessarily leave you full of hope as you got up from the leather upholstered chair and Cordelia informed you that you would receive a call if she decided to hire you. 

Walking through the restaurant–which was void of patrons, but had some staff preparing and setting up for opening in a few hours–, you finally come to the large glass entrance doors, and push one open. The late November chill blasts you in the face immediately and the switch from the warmth of the restaurant to this shiver-worthy weather is jarring. Had it somehow dropped five degrees from when you’d walked here? 

Turning right and beginning your trek back home, you hear a voice call out your name from behind you. 

You ignore it at first, thinking that the person can’t be calling out to you since you know a grand total of four people so far (five if you count Cordelia—but you don’t) and surely there are other people in this massively diverse city that also have your name. 

“Hey!” The voice calls again once you’ve made it no more than fifteen feet from the restaurant. 

Finally, you stop walking and spin around to locate the source, and what you find surprises you.

Eddie is currently jogging toward you. 

He’d waited this whole time? Out in the freezing cold? With that effortlessly cool leather jacket that is an extremely pathetic excuse for a winter coat and is definitely doing nothing to keep the warmth in?

“Hey,” He says again once he reaches you. 

“Hey,” You say. “You didn’t have to wait for me, Eddie.” Because he really didn’t and you don’t want to be a burden or make him think you’re taking advantage of his kindness. 

“Seeing as you’re going in the wrong direction, it’s probably a good thing I did,” Eddie tells you, nodding back in the other direction with a gentle, c’mon. You feel your face warm even as the wind whips you. 

“Thanks,” You say sheepishly, walking in step with Eddie—in the correct direction now.

“So, how’d it go? Did you crush it?” He asks hopefully, head turned to look at you, and his shoulders pushed up by his red-tipped ears as though he’s trying to conserve heat. 

The furrow in your brow and your soft stuttering must be enough for Eddie to understand exactly how it went, as he speaks before you can provide him with your best approximation of how the interview might have gone. 

“Yeah, that’s normal with Cordelia. That woman is impossible to read,” He says, shaking his head as you both stop at a crosswalk. 

“Right? Oh my God. I’m glad it wasn’t just me,” You say, relieved because that means that the interview wasn’t a total disaster. Is that what that means?

“Yeah, we call her Medusa,” Eddie remarks with a sidelong glance at you. 

You snort unattractively at the nickname and just as quickly bring your hand to your face, covering your mouth as if the action could force the sound back in. 

“Fitting,” You say, coughing as a cover for the noise when Eddie looks at you, brows raised, supposedly amused by your amusement. 

Eddie smirks to himself, barely noticeable, before asking, “Did she say she’d call?” As you look both ways before crossing the street with many other bundled-up New Yorkers. 

“Uh, yeah, why?” 

“That’s a good sign,” He answers, his shoulders shaking with a sudden shiver. That simple statement allows just a little drop of hope to blossom in your chest. 

“Are you cold?” You ask because he can’t not be freezing. He’s not exactly convincing you otherwise. 

“Yeah. I can’t feel my fingers,” Eddie states plainly.

“Wanna jog the rest of the way?” You offer, mostly joking. 

“Please,” He replies anyway.

Though you don’t exactly jog the last few blocks home, you do pick up the pace, and when you get back you make him some tea to warm him up (and hopefully bring back feeling in his fingers). 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

Since your interview every time the phone rings you basically leap over any obstacles in your way to get to the phone, hoping it will be Cordelia calling about your waitressing position as Hannigan’s. But each time the phone rings and it’s a telemarketer, or the bank, or anyone other than Medusa herself, you lose just a little more of that small inkling of hope you allowed yourself to have. 

At present, you sit on the couch in the living room beside Robin while you eat noodles; the rest of the Chinese spread sitting on the coffee table in front of you or in the laps of Steve, Eddie, and Robin. 

On the plush chair to your left sits Steve who is currently chowing down on some dumplings while staring with rapt attention at the television, and Eddie–who announced his newfound aversion to normative seating options upon his arrival in your home–sits on the floor by your socked feet. 

Though the TV is on, you aren’t really paying attention. It’s been just over a week now since you moved in and one week to the day since your interview, and by now you’ve lost all hope. 

Privately, you decided that you would call time of death on this potential job by the end of today and start searching for a new one tomorrow. You know there’s plenty of other jobs out there, but the prospect of working with Robin and Eddie had excited you and made you a whole lot less anxious about working in this new city.  

Ring! Ring! Ring! 

Hope surges inside of you despite your intentions of abandoning it. Suddenly, you feel three sets of eyes on you. Even Steve—who had been incredibly invested in the lifeguards running in slow motion on the television screen—looks at you now. 

They all knew you’d been waiting for the call. They also knew that you hadn’t received one. Not the one, at least. You wish you had time to get up and answer the phone that sits on the side table in your bedroom because you’d really rather not admit to them that it’s simply another telemarketer. 

Since you don’t have the time to reach the phone in your bedroom though, you pull in a deep breath, reach over the sofa arm, and pick up the landline that sits on the glass end table. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, this is Cordelia Hannigan from Hannigan’s-”

And after that you think you black out. Because you don’t hear anything after that. Because this is the happiest you’ve ever been about getting a call about a job. Which sounds ridiculous since it’s just a waitressing job. But it represents so much more. It’s the seal that cements your place in this city with these people. It represents your new beginning. 

With that realization you decide that you should probably listen to your new beginning. Trying your best to tune into Cordelia’s words, you hear her throwing words and phrases around like strict dress code and uniform and training and first shift. When she’s done, you tell her thank you, and return the phone to the base, hanging it up with a resolute click. 

Three sets of eyes remain on you and your frozen body. When you don’t say anything after one second of hanging up, they get restless. 

“So?” Steve prompts, leaning forward in his chair in anticipation. 

“Was it Medusa?” Robin asks from your side. 

You nod slowly, not believing it yourself. “Uh-huh…I got the job.” 

“You got the job!” They all shout in freaky unison. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. You think you hear Steve mutter déjà-vu to himself as Robin and Eddie continue their cheering and congratulating. 

“I-I start training this week and my first shift next week,” You inform. 

And then Eddie’s shouting, “Speech, speech, speech!” with his hands cupped over his mouth as if you’re much further away from him. 

“Alright, alright!” You acquiesce as the others join his chant, putting your noodles down on the coffee table and getting up to stand in front of the television.

“Um, I guess I just want to thank all of you,” You begin, feeling suddenly sincere, but still maintaining a note of jest. “I couldn’t have done it without all of you. Steve, you helped me transport and unpack most of my shit. And I have a lot of shit.”

He nods in agreement. “And I couldn’t have focused on prepping for the interview if I was worried about my stuff sitting in my car in that garage, so thank you…Robin, you helped me set up the interview with Cordelia-”

“Medusa,” Robin and Eddie correct simultaneously. 

“Medusa,” You correct yourself. “And you also recommended me for the position. So, thank you…And last, but certainly not least, Eddie,” You say, smiling softly when you catch his eye. He smiles right back at you, that charming dimple appearing on his face as he does. 

“Without your pointers I probably would not have made it through the interview without being turned to stone.”–Eddie snorts–“And I also probably would have gotten completely lost and wandered into the East River if you hadn’t been there when I left. So, thank you…” You tell him sincerely, the partially joking tone you had maintained throughout your cheesy speech erased completely now since your gaze had fallen on him. 

“Good night, New York!” You finish, trying to play up the cheesiness now to divert from the seriousness that had snuck into your tone, and you bow dramatically as Robin and Eddie clap and woop. But Steve, you notice, is glancing oddly as Eddie.

You laugh as you take your seat, plucking your cardboard box of noodles off the table as you go. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

“Robin!” You hear Steve call from out in the living room, his voice muffled slightly through your closed bedroom door. “The door!” 

Robin’s door creaks open before you hear her exit her bedroom. 

“You couldn’t have gotten it?” She complains as she walks through the apartment to answer the door. 

“No. Baywatch is on,” Steve replies like his answer needs no further explanation. You snicker to yourself as you button up your pressed, white uniform shirt. You swear you can hear Robin’s eyes rolling. 

Baywatch was Steve’s favourite TV show; he never missed an episode—except for last week when a meeting at his school ran longer than expected and he’d called Robin to get her to tape it for him. He decided that now–while you were both getting ready to leave for work–was the perfect time to come over and watch it (instead of taking the tape back to his place since your TV is better anyway). 

The apartment's front door–which remains perpetually unlocked when you and Robin are home–opens and you listen closely to hear who it might be while you work on tucking your shirt into your formal black dress pants. 

“Oh. Hey, Eddie,” You hear Robin greet, though it sounds more like a question with the confusion lacing her tone. 

“Hey,” Eddie says, his footsteps tapping against the faux hardwood as Robin shuts the door with a loud slam. 

With a quick glance over at your alarm clock, you find that it’s almost time to leave. The realization sends nervous butterflies to flight in your belly. Tonight is your very first shift at Hannigan’s. 

Last week you had your training, which was nerve-wracking, but tonight was the real thing. Tonight you would be earning your first dollar, receiving your first tip, suggesting wine pairings, and probably dealing with rude customers. And all of it makes you nervous. 

It’s scary for so many reasons, for more reasons than just the fact that new jobs (no matter what they are) are always scary. It’s scary because it’s the next step in the process of making a new–hopefully better–life for yourself here. For that reason, you want it to go well. But you aren’t sure what ‘well’ really means in this situation. 

“Y/N!” Robin calls, shaking you from your thoughts. “Cab’s here!” 

Blowing out a quick breath, and trying your best to shake out your nerves, you grab your jacket and bag and exit your bedroom, still feeling those butterflies, but determined not to let them shake you. At least not too much. 

Leaning against the now open apartment door is Eddie who’s dressed in the same black dress pants and white button-up as you and Robin. He shoots you an easy smile as you emerge from your room, and you smile back. 

His long hair, which he usually lets flow over his shoulders in soft waves, is now tied in a low bun. He’s missing his usual chunky silver rings and all his tattoos are hidden beneath his sleeves and a highly buttoned collar. 

Though it’s strange to see him stripped of his unique accessories, you find yourself scrolling your eyes over his body. With his hair away from his face, his features are highlighted, revealing the strong line of his jaw and making his eyes appear somehow larger. 

As your eyes move down his body, you note the way his arms look in the button up, how his thighs fill out the dress pants. You find yourself missing his rings though. Something twists in your belly, though this time it’s not nerves. 

“Ready?” Robin’s voice asks, once again shaking you from your thoughts. She must notice that you weren’t entirely there, that you were lost in your thoughts because she stops shoving things into her bag to ask: “You okay?” 

Ripping your gaze away from Eddie and turning to Robin, you reply, “Yeah!” in a voice much higher than your own. You cough quickly as a cover and repeat your words, sounding much less caught out the second time. 

“Okay,” Robin drawls suspiciously. “Well, we should really get down to the cab now cause we probably have about 60 seconds before they decide to leave and force us to brave the windchill ourselves,” She informs, pulling her jacket on and shoving her tote bag over her shoulder. “Alright, you’ll lock up and we’ll see you at the coffee house afterwards?” Robin asks Steve. 

“Yeah, sure,” He replies absentmindedly from where he’s glued to the sofa. 

“Shit, I should probably get my keys then,” You mutter. If they’re going to the coffee house after your shift, then you can’t rely on Robin unlocking the door for you if you’re not together when you get home. 

Before you can walk back to your room to retrieve your keys though, Steve pipes up. You’re pretty sure it’s the first time he’s taken his eyes off the television since he got here. 

“Wait, you’re not coming?” He asks, his body twisted to look at you with his arm draped over the back of the couch. 

“Oh,” You reply dumbly because ‘we’ apparently included you. You were a part of the ‘we’ Robin meant. ‘We’, as in Robin, Eddie, Steve, and you.

It’s not like they haven’t been welcoming since you got here, but it’s only been a few weeks and they’ve been friends and neighbours for years; you thought it might take them longer to accept you into the group since they’re so solid. A part of you felt like they might still see you as an outsider; someone who doesn’t get invited to their after-work coffee shop hangouts just yet. But they’d expected you to come. Sometime within the last couple weeks you became a part of their definition of ‘we’.

“No, I’ll come,” You confirm with a nod in an attempt to appear casual about the invite. 

“Awesome,” Steve says, turning back to the television. 

“Guys!” Robin shouts and you realize then that she’s no longer in the apartment. Eddie pokes his head out into the hall as Robin says, “Come on, the cab is waiting!” 

“Yep, coming,” Eddie says and you follow right behind him, feeling so many things all at once. Nervous about your shift, excited about being invited to the coffee house, and another thing for Eddie that you can’t quite name just yet. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

The fast-paced environment of Hannigan’s is overwhelming, and while normally it might frazzle you, you find that you don’t mind it nearly as much as you thought you might. It’s definitely a different environment than your last job–a desk job that only promoted boredom within you–, but the new challenge of this place is stimulating.

As the night goes on, the din of the restaurant only intensifies; nearly every table and booth is filled with patrons talking and enjoying their 5-star meals, the sounds of cutlery clashing against fine china, hosts and hostesses greeting people at the entrance and making reservations for customers over the phone for months from now, the sizzling, clinking sounds roaring from the kitchen when the swinging traffic doors open, then shushing when the doors close again. 

With just over an hour left of your shift and the clearing of what feels like the thousandth table you’ve waited on tonight, you watch as yet another diner is seated in your section. He’s a tall man, his dark hair styled precisely atop his head, and has a short goatee beard, trimmed to perfection. It reminds you of Kurt Cobain’s facial hair, though nothing else about him resembles the rock icon. The man looks rich–though you suppose most people who dine here are. From what you can tell with the distance between you, he might be about ten years your senior.

Not wanting to keep him waiting, you begin to stride over to his table, though you are just as soon intercepted, a large hand gently engulfing your wrist. You turn and find that the hand is attached to Eddie, his deep brown eyes staring back at you, and suddenly the contact brings heat to your face and a zip of something unnamable down your arm. Both of you retract your hands swiftly before Eddie explains his interception: “Why don’t you let me take this table, yeah?”

Confusion muddles your features for a moment. Why on earth would Eddie want to take on another table? It’s busy enough in here as it is. Plus, taking a table that is not in your section is strictly against the rules and as it’s your very first shift here, you’re not quite comfortable enough just yet to bend any rules. Especially not when they were fiercely outlined to you by Cordelia, who you were sure that if she possessed the powers of Medusa like Eddie and Robin say, she would surely turn you to stone if she caught you breaking any of them. 

Since you’re not willing to risk getting yourself or Eddie into any sort of trouble, you tell him: “You have your own section to worry about, Eddie. Don’t worry about mine, I got this.” With an easy smile in hopes of further reassuring him, though you’re not sure of what. 

You barely make it a few steps in the direction of your table before he’s stopping you again, this time with a gentle hand at your elbow. 

“It’s just that…I’ve had that guy in my section before and he’s…difficult,” Eddie explains, struggling to come up with a word to describe him and seemingly being displeased with the one he chose as his brows furrowed together. 

Oh. 

His explanation causes heat to rise to your face, warming your entire chest with a strange fuzzy feeling. Was Eddie trying to protect you? If he was, that was very sweet of him, but still, you can’t allow him to take this table for you–even though you feel like you could melt to mush in his grasp right now. 

“I’ve dealt with difficult people all evening,” You say. “I’ve got this.” 

Before he can protest anymore or continue to convince you not to take the table, you’re walking away from him, your soft skin slipping from his gentle grip. 

Eddie watches you walk away, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as you greet Paul and hand him the menu. The second Eddie sees that trademark salacious smirk creep across Paul’s face, Eddie’s jaw clenches involuntarily, but it’s not like he can do anything about it now.

Had he had any right to try to do anything about it before? To try to take your table? He hasn’t known you very long, so who is he to step in and attempt to protect you from that creep? He shouldn’t even feel this protective of you, this jealous. What the fuck is going on with him lately? 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

Collapsing onto the big fluffy couch at The Ugly Mug, you feel yourself instantly sink into the soft cushions. Have they always felt like literal clouds molding perfectly to your body or does it just seem that way after being on your feet for hours? 

Now that your first shift is over you can appreciate how truly tiring it was. Adrenaline must have helped you stay on your feet all night, helped you acclimate to the job, but now that you’re seated in the calm, quiet atmosphere of the coffee shop, all that energy has left you entirely. 

“Ugh, is it always this exhausting?” You sigh, slumped between Robin and Eddie. Steve sits on a plush chair next to the couch. 

“I-” Robin begins, but Eddie interrupts before she can finish. 

“Don’t lie to her, Rob,” Eddie says, sensing that Robin was likely about to lie in order to comfort you. 

“Fine,” She replies, sighing, exhaustion weighing heavy in her bones as well. “It is. It’s always this exhausting…” 

“But,” Robin drawls teasingly, pushing herself up so she’s no longer slumped down on the couch. “It’s not every shift you get hit on,” She says, wiggling her brows suggestively at you. 

“What? Who got hit on?” Steve pipes up curiously, placing his pastry down on the round table beside him. 

“Y/N,” Robin confirms teasingly, and you cover your face with your hands. 

Eddie huffs from beside you as Steve says, “What? No way! By who?” 

“One of the rich guys. I think he’s a new regular–Paul,” Robin answers, a childish tone to her voice when she says his name that makes you think she might start singing Sitting In A Tree with yours and Paul’s names any second now. 

Steve’s eyes widen comically and Eddie grumbles something incoherent from your side, but you don’t get the chance to ask him what he said before Steve is hurriedly asking: “So? What happened?”

“Well, he asked me out,” You reply, a little embarrassed from their excitement as you adjust so your legs are crossed under you. Paul was charming from the moment you handed him his menu, all smiles and classic handsomeness. 

“And you said?” 

“I said yes,” You reply quietly at the same time as Robin exclaims, She said yes! She’d cackled when you’d told her about it at your lockers after your shift ended, joking that you could quit Hannigan’s and Paul could become your sugar daddy instead. 

Normally, you might have declined such an offer from someone you’d just met–especially if that someone was 10 years older than you–, but the whole point of this move was change. Change required doing things you might not normally do, it required some spontaneity and courage. Both of which were not necessarily your strong suits, but you were trying. The first step was simply saying yes to things. 

Steve smiles, impressed. “Alright, Y/L/N!” 

And then, realization dawns over his features and he quickly turns his attention to Robin. 

“Speaking of dates…” Steve begins, using the same salacious tone Robin had used earlier. “Robin, how are things going with Alicia?” 

Looking at Robin, her eyes widen as she replies, “Oh my God, I totally spaced and forgot to tell you!” 

Leaning in closer to Eddie on your other side, you whisper, “Who’s Alicia?” 

“This girl Robin’s been seeing for a bit,” He answers easily. 

You tune back into the conversation just in time to hear Robin inform, “I asked her to be my girlfriend.” Even if you weren’t looking at her right now you’d be able to hear the smile in her voice. 

“That’s great, what’d she say?” Steve asks, jumping in even as Robin opens her mouth to continue, clearly not finished speaking.

“She said yes!” Robin exclaims, not even pausing to tease him about his over-eagerness to hear the rest of the story or give him a playful roll of her eyes like she usually might. This Alicia woman must mean a lot to Robin if she’s obliged to censor her usual sarcastic quips. 

“Fuck yeah!” Says Steve as he high fives Robin and you chuckle at their odd celebration. 

“Robin, that’s great. I’m so happy for you,” You congratulate, hand on her shoulder, remembering when you were teens and she never thought she’d get to have a girlfriend. Robin smiles sheepishly now. 

What a satisfying end to the day. You’re exhausted, but at the same time exhilarated. It feels like things are finally falling into place, like you’d been putting together a puzzle and some of the pieces had gone missing. But you’ve found some of them, and now you’re sliding them into their places. And they fit. For the first time, you feel like you fit, and that makes you believe that everything is going to be okay–that you’re going to be okay. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

“So,” Robin drawls as she places two juices on the kitchen table in front of you, one for her and one for you. “Where’s he taking you?” 

“I don’t know yet, actually. All I know is that it’s ‘somewhere nice’ and he’s going to be picking me up at 7:30-ish,” You reply as you twist the cap off your drink. 

“Mysterious,” Robin comments after taking a sip of her juice.

“Your date’s tonight?” Steve asks as he wanders into the kitchen and sticks his head into the fridge, likely scouring the shelves for a snack. 

“Yeah, why?”

Steve stands from his bent position inside the fridge and turns to you and Robin, a slice of cold pizza in hand. “Mine too! Gonna bring her her favourite flowers, take her to her favourite restaurant, go see the tree at Rockefeller–the whole shebang.” 

Steve takes a giant bite out of his pizza slice, then slides over to the table and steals Robin’s drink. She makes a disgusted face at him in protest and pushes the drink away from her when he places it back on the table after taking a healthy swig.

“That’s really sweet, Steve. I’m sure she’ll have a great time,” You tell him genuinely. 

“Ugh!” Robin groans, drawing your attention away from Steve as her head falls back on her shoulders dramatically. “Stop talking about dates! I haven’t seen Alicia in three days and I have a shift tonight,” She complains, pouting. 

“You’re the one who brought it up,” Steve mutters, taking his slice with him into the living room where he joins Eddie and Nancy–who sit on the armchair and couch, reading and writing, respectively. 

“Whatever,” Robin replies, slumping down in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“Aren’t you seeing her tomorrow?” You ask though you know the answer because it’s all that she’s talked about since she last saw Alicia. You’re sure you could pick the girl out of a crowd without ever having seen her just from everything Robin has spewed to you about her. It’s nice to see her happy. 

“Yeah,” Robin says, tone solemn. 

“Why do you sound disappointed?” You wonder with a chuckle.

“Because tomorrow is not right now,” Robin explains and you snort at her impatience to see her girlfriend again. 

God, you don’t remember the last time you felt that way about someone; wanting to be around them all the time, missing them the second they left your side. Maybe it was college the last time you’d felt that way? You haven’t really dated since then. That one disastrous blind date your previous co-workers set you up on does not count. You’d actually prefer to block it out of your memory. 

Robin sighs. “Anyway, I should hop in the shower before my shift,” She says as she stands and heads to the bathroom. She’s genuinely bummed that she won’t get to see Alicia until tomorrow 

“Have fun,” You joke, head falling back on your shoulders as you watch her walk into the bathroom upside-down. You think you hear a sarcastic ha-ha from her before the door shuts. 

Also upside-down from your current perspective is Eddie who you see sliding the window to the balcony open before ducking under it and going out onto the balcony.

He’s been off all night. While usually he would be cracking jokes and being his usual over-dramatic, loud self, tonight he was uncharacteristically quiet, keeping to himself. You’ve spent enough time around him by now to tell when something might be up with him. 

Standing and grabbing the large throw blanket tossed over one end of the couch, you wrap it around yourself before going to the window, sliding it open again and carefully ducking under it as you step out into the chilly night. 

The remnants of winter's early sunset remains on the horizon, lining the city in a dark blue hue while the sky above and beyond that is blanketed by blackness and a dull smattering of stars. That’s the one thing you miss about living in a small town; the lack of light pollution allowed for the stars in the sky to burn bright. Here, it’s impossible to make out a constellation from the street. You suppose the city lights are as close to stars as you’ll get out here.

Eddie leans against the brick and concrete balcony wall, his forearms perched on the cold surface, watching the city as plumes of cigarette smoke swirl around his head. He turns to look at you when he hears you approaching, tucking his chin to his shoulder. 

“You smoke?” You ask, pointing at the cigarette held delicately between his index and middle fingers. You’re feeling a little awkward for some reason. Maybe because you’re not used to Eddie being silent. 

Eddie sniffs, says, “Yeah. Trying to quit.” Then snuffs out the half-smoked stick by crushing it against the concrete. He knows the habit might bother you. It bothers the others as well; Nancy has called it a ‘cancer stick’, Steve has often taken to flushing his cigs in protest, and Robin simply informs him that it stinks. He also knows that you have your date with Paul tonight, and as much as he dislikes the guy, he doesn’t want you smelling of smoke for your date. 

“Hm,” You hum, coming up beside him and leaning over the wall, a blanket wrapped tightly around your shoulders. You shiver and he has the urge to remove his leather jacket and wrap it around you. 

There’s a lull then, in which Eddie wonders why you might have come out here. From the sounds of your prior conversation with Robin, you need to start getting ready for your date soon. Why come out here just to stand around with him in the cold? 

“Um,” Eddie begins, unsure of how to phrase this so it doesn’t sound like he’s shooing you off. Just because he doesn’t understand why you’re out here with him doesn’t mean he wants you to leave. He enjoys your company, wants to be around you more. As much as possible, actually. “Did-did you need something?” 

You hesitate for a moment, before saying, “No. No, I just wanted to come check on you.” Though it sounds more like a question. Like you’re prompting him gently. 

“Oh. Okay,” Eddie replies, surprised and not sure what else to say to that. You’re so thoughtful and observant it makes his chest hurt. 

Eddie can feel you examining his face closely and he lets you, continuing to stare out at the city below. 

“I can leave if you-” 

“No,” Eddie replies suddenly before you can even finish your sentence, his eyes finding yours as he says it. Your eyes are wide, expectant. “I mean-no. You’re good.” 

“Okay,” You say, settling in beside him.  

The conversation tapers off again and you’re left with the sounds of honking cars, the muffled racket of people talking in the street below, the robust sound of a public bus stopping down at the corner. A harsh wind kisses your cheeks, likely staining Eddie’s pink. 

He feels awkward. He’s never felt awkward around you before. Not even when you almost strangled him that one morning and he smashed his head against the coffee table. Maybe it’s because of everything going on in his head right now. 

An odd tension sizzles between you. He can feel its strength, more fierce than the wind. But it’s elusive, an enigma he can’t quite grasp. He wants not to think about it and tries not to since he can’t do anything about it anyway. 

“How are you adjusting?” 

“Are you okay?” 

You both break the silence at the same time. A smile breaks across your face and Eddie blows a harsh breath out through his nose. 

“Sorry, you go first,” Eddie offers. 

“I just-are you alright?” You rush out after a brief pause, seemingly self-conscious of the question, though Eddie could never imagine why. “I just thought you maybe seemed a bit off in there…And, like, usually when people separate from the pack, it might mean something’s up,” You explain slowly, that almost inquisitive tone appearing in your voice again. 

Eddie side eyes you, your perceptiveness surprising.

You must take the glance to mean that he’s annoyed because you say, wanting to lighten the mood, “...Or they just want to be left the hell alone.”

Eddie snorts, turning his body to face yours now, his right hip pressed into the cold concrete wall with his elbow resting atop it. You mirror his stance, adjusting the fluffy blanket around you as you go. 

“But I find it usually means the first thing….And-and a lot of the time I don’t think that people really want to be left alone, even if they say they do.”

“Oh, yeah?” Eddie teases lightly, wanting to shift the focus away from himself. He can’t tell you what’s wrong.

“Mhm,” You nod, playing along with his teasing by holding your head high as if you have all the wisdom in the world to offer. But then your expression changes. Just slightly, but Eddie sees it. What you say next isn’t teasing, what you say next is from your soul. 

“I think what they really want—more than anything—is to not have to be alone ever again,” You say, and it’s like a shadow passes over your face. He notes the change in your eyes; like you’re living a past feeling. 

“Yeah,” Eddie agrees after a beat, tone the furthest from teasing it’s ever been. Both because he knows the feeling, but also because he doesn’t want you to feel alone in it. Because he can tell you’ve been really lonely before. And he hates that his evasion of your question made you recall that loneliness. 

That look in your eyes disappears, and you seem to shake out of it easily as you look him in the face and ask, “What are you thinking?” 

It’s a pretty innocuous question. But right now, at this moment, it holds more weight. 

“I’m thinking that…you’re right. I guess I’ve just been in my head.” 

He wasn’t planning on revealing that. He doesn’t even know why he said anything. It’s like you pulled it out of him. It’s like he can’t resist. 

“Yeah? About what?” You ask, eyes searching his. 

He can’t tell you. He wishes he could, but he can’t. It would be such a jerk move to tell you before your date. And it’s not like he could have told you earlier either. Not after the promise he’d made. He already feels like he’s said too much. 

“We don’t have to talk about it. I get it,” You say after he doesn’t reply. 

But you don’t sound hurt. Instead, you sound sincere in your acceptance of the fact that he doesn’t want to say anything. It makes him want to tell you even more. Your sincere kindness, your thoughtfulness, it makes him ache. How can he not be honest with you? Especially when you’ve been so honest with him. 

In order to honour his previous promise, Eddie layers the truth in a sheer veil of lies, concealing parts of the truth, while revealing others. 

“There’s-there’s this girl,” Eddie begins, working out how he’s going to weave lies in with the truth. “But one of the guys from my band–Jeff–asked her out recently…And I-” 

“You like her too?” You guess. You’d known from the secret smile that crept onto his face; fond but sad. 

Eddie nods slowly, relieved that he didn’t have to say the words aloud himself. Like saying them would make it more real, would confirm what he already knows. 

“But Jeff asked her out first. So I don’t have a right to…to feel the way I do about it,” Eddie explains, navigating his way around the truth. He’s lying to you almost as much as he’s lying to himself. “And it would be wrong to tell her now. I’d be betraying Jeff’s trust.” It’s not Jeff’s trust he’d be betraying. 

You sigh, stumped. “I’m sorry, that’s hard…tell me about her?” You ask, though your voice sounds strained. 

God, you’re so nice. It’s killing him. He feels so guilty. How can he lie to you about you? He can’t. Not when you’re looking at him like you are. Like every word out of his mouth is the most important thing that has ever been said. 

“Um…Well. She’s-she’s open-minded and accepting, a little weird,” Eddie describes with a chuckle, remembering the morning you greeted him with your bathrobe tie. 

When your eyes connect, he can’t help but soften, impassioned as he looks into them. Wanting so badly to let you know he’s talking about you, he toes the line. 

“She’s genuine. Honest. What you see is what you get with her,” Eddie says. The city noise fades away and your breaths become the wind, your eyes the city lights. 

“She cares about her friends. It feels like she always knows the right thing to say, even if she feels like she doesn’t…And she’s the kindest person I’ve ever met.” 

Something changes in your expression. Your eyes burn, searching his intently, looking back and forth between the left and the right. His eyes can’t lie, he can’t force them to. They reveal everything. They can’t conceal or contain his feelings. 

Eddie yearns to hold your face gently in his hands, to feel your lips against his, to feel your smile as he kisses you. 

Your chest rises and falls with heavy breaths as if sudden emotion overwhelms you, your eyes aflame. You wait in anticipation for his next words as wind whistles around you, ruffling your blanket.  

“Anyway,” Eddie coughs, dispelling the tension, and glances down at his wristwatch. “It’s getting late, you should probably start getting ready for your date.” 

Recognition flashes in your eyes, like you’d forgotten entirely about your upcoming commitment. 

The spell is broken. He hadn’t even realized there’d been a spell until it was broken. 

You take a step back and it’s then Eddie realizes you were so close your toes were nearly touching. Shit. Why had he done that? That was almost worse than telling you everything he’d said was actually about you. 

“Yeah. Right,” You agree, walking back towards the window.

Eddie turns and leans against the balcony wall, looks back over the city. The wind is the wind, and the lights are just lights. 

“Oh, and Eddie?” You call. Eddie swivels his head to look back at you, one foot inside the apartment and one out on the balcony with him, straddling the window sill. “I hope it works out with her.” 

Eddie gives you a good-natured smile. “Yeah. Me too,” He replies as you duck under the window and return to the apartment. You close it shut softly, leaving him with the wind and the lights. 

Eventually, Eddie goes back inside too, locking every intense emotion that had built up inside of him out in the cold. 

As he wanders back into the apartment, he finds your bedroom door is now closed and Nancy’s spot on the couch is vacant. Robin is rushing out of her room in her work uniform while she roots through her bag, mumbling about her keys. And Steve, who’s snacking on some grapes from the fruit bowl on the counter, has Robin’s keys casually swinging from his index finger. Though Robin doesn’t notice until Steve ahem’s, and she snatches them from his hand before reaching the door. 

“Oh!” She says as her hand twists the handle, and spins around on her heel to face Eddie and Steve. “If either one of you is still here before Y/N leaves, tell her to have a good night with Paul. She deserves it.” 

And the door slams shut behind her as Eddie takes his seat on the couch. 

He has every intention of picking his book back up where he left off. Though it remains open in his hands as he stares at your door. He can’t stop staring at your door. Which should be infinitely less captivating than the words between the pages in his hands. And yet it is not. It is far more captivating than any book he has ever or will ever read. The thought strikes him like a bolt of lightning zapping a tree and setting it on fire.

“Hey, man, are you okay?” Steve asks, noticing Eddie’s prolonged staring at your door. 

Pulling his eyes very slowly away from your door, Eddie replies, “Yeah, I…Yeah.” 

When his gaze finds Steve’s, he’s looking at Eddie like he’s trying to do long division in his head. 

“...Okay,” Steve drawls, retrieving his jacket from the counter in the kitchen. “We’re definitely gonna talk about that later. But for now, I gotta pick up Joselyn. Later, man!” He calls as he exits the apartment, leaving just Eddie and your door, alone. 

He’s not necessarily looking forward to whatever conversation Steve wants to have with him later, but he’s hoping this Joselyn woman will keep Steve busy long enough for Eddie to avoid the conversation entirely–at least for the night. 

It’s been 23 minutes and your bedroom door still has not opened. Eddie knows the exact amount of time it remains closed because although he had tried to focus on the words in his book after Steve left, he simply could not stop looking at your door. And wondering when it would open. Hoping it would open. Estimating when it would open by calculating how long it might take you to get ready. For a solid three seconds, Eddie debates knocking on it, before deciding that’s crazy because-

The door opens. 

“How do I-” 

Eddie stares. Suddenly your door becomes the least captivating thing in the room–in the entire universe–and he can’t believe he ever thought it was captivating to begin with. 

Your black dress—which reaches your ankles—is simple, though it hugs your body wonderfully. The straps are thin and the neck is square-shaped. 

Eddie could equate your beauty to a thousand other beautiful things. He could equate it to paintings and sunsets and flowers. He could equate it to the most beautiful poetry and the most profound stories. But the truth is that none of his comparisons would ever be enough. None of them could express how he feels when he looks at you; like his heart stops and speeds up in his chest at the same time. Like he’s never seen anything beautiful in his life until this moment or even knew what the word beauty meant until he saw you. 

“Oh-Everyone left already?” You question when you realize Eddie is alone. You and Eddie are alone. 

“Y-yeah,” Eddie stutters, mouth suddenly dry. 

“Oh…alright.”

Eddie swallows hard, trying his very best not to watch you like he’d watched your door. But that task proves impossible. And now it’s quiet. And it’s been quiet for far too long as you stand there fidgeting with your shawl looking like that with no one to tell you that you look like that. No one except Eddie. 

“Um,” Eddie begins. Great start. He can’t say what he wants to, so instead he explains his presence: “I didn’t wanna leave without letting you know, since everyone else left...But, uh, what-what were you gonna say…before?” God, he was the worst! If he can’t say the word to himself, how is he supposed to repeat it out loud to you? 

“Oh,” You say, looking down at yourself bashfully. “I was just gonna ask how I looked,” You explain, waving your hand in dismissal.

Eddie wants to not be the worst. Eddie wants you to think that he’s not the worst. Eddie wants you to know that you look like that. 

“You look great,” He says, slightly breathless. ‘Great’ is a safe word, it’s a friendly word. It’s not the word he wanted to use. 

You smile softly, averting your eyes from him and to the floor as you say a meek, but sincere, “Thank you.” 

Eddie really shouldn’t say anymore. But he loves the way it feels when you get all shy from his compliments. He loves the way you thank him. Like you know his compliment is true, but to hear him say it means something different, something special.

So he can’t keep it in. But he wills himself to reign in his emotions; to freeze the butterflies in his belly before they take flight. 

“You-” look really pretty. “Your dress is really pretty.” 

“Thank you, Eddie,” You say, swaying nervously on the spot. 

Fuck. Shit. Jesus Christ! There wasn’t a net big enough in the world to contain the swarm of butterflies fluttering in his belly right now. It’s downright embarrassing. 

You seek out his eyes. And Eddie knows. And you part your lips, about to speak. 

“I-”

Knock, knock, knock. 

All too soon, your gaze shifts to the front door. But Eddie’s eyes remain on you. 

“Oh, that’s Paul,” You inform, pulling your shawl more tightly around your body before you begin walking towards the door. You make it about three paces before you realize, “Shoot, I forgot my purse in my room, would you mind getting the door?” 

“Sure,” Eddie says, minding a whole awful lot. But he stands from the couch anyway and makes his way to the door as you head back into your bedroom. 

The door swings open, revealing a sharply dressed Paul leaning against the doorframe. His suit is pressed to perfection, not a wrinkle in sight. It’s too pristine, like he’s not moved in it, not sat down. 

When Paul lifts his head from where it’s bent on his neck, his salacious smirk disappears the moment he sees Eddie. He’s far less handsome with that ugly frown on his face. He looks like a petulant child. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Eddie bites his tongue. Then forces a fake smile as he greets politely, “Good to see you too, Paul.” 

He expected nothing less from the guy, but that didn’t make it any easier to hold back. Sure, he wasn’t serving him in the restaurant–so there weren’t any clearly defined rules here–but you were about to go out on a date with the guy. So he held back. 

“Y/N will be right out, she’s-” 

The click of your heels against the wood floors sound behind him. Paul’s smirk spreads across his face like molasses as he eyes you. Though Eddie’s sure they don’t roam further than your chest. 

A surge of unrightful possessiveness swells within him at Paul’s obvious ogling. 

“Hey!” You greet him cheerily and Eddie steps aside, fading into the background. 

“Hey, babe,” Paul says as you reach him and Eddie cringes at the territorial nickname. It takes everything in him not to shudder like he’s just seen a child pick their nose and wipe it on a pole in the subway. 

You hug and Eddie watches as one of Paul's long arms stretches around your waist, though his hand hovers dangerously low before you pull away and Paul remarks, “Ready to go?”

“Yup,” You confirm, with a sweet smile. With that, Paul guides you out of the apartment with a hand on your middle back and just before you exit the apartment, you request: “Lock up on your way out?” 

It shouldn’t feel this good to have your attention on him again. Shouldn’t make his heart skip in his chest. 

Eddie just nods, sure that if he tried to speak, he would emit some embarrassing sound instead of a casual sure thing.

You smile at him widely, “Bye, Eddie.” Has his name always sounded that lovely? 

“Bye, Y/N.” Has your name ever felt that lovely rolling off his tongue? 

The door slams shut behind you. 

“Shit.” 

Eddie’s belly bubbles with a feeling. Jealousy burns in his gut. He has no right to feel this way. The moment he names it, he wants to un-name it. The moment he names it, he wants to ban the word from his mind, shove it inside one of those dark spots up there, and hope it never sees the light of day again. 

He made a promise to Robin. He doesn’t get to feel this way. 

So he tries his best not to call it what it is and tells himself that it has to be a simple combination of his hatred for Paul and his knowledge that you are a ridiculously wonderful person who deserves so much better than Paul Becker. But this is all he can allow himself to acknowledge. 

What he will not acknowledge is the third part to this equation that adds up to this feeling. What he will not acknowledge is the way he feels when you look at him, when you say his name, when you stand in front of him in a black dress and he can’t tell you how pretty you look. 

So he focuses on the one thing that is the most natural to him: the fact that Eddie hates Paul. 

⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂ ⌂

Next Chapter [coming soon]

A/N: And that is chapter one, folks! I've been working on this for months now, so I really, really hope you enjoyed it. Please consider reblogging and leaving a nice comment or sending me an ask telling me what you thought!

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson reader insert #eddie munson series #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson hurt/comfort #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x reader #stranger things x y/n #stranger things x you #stranger things one shot #stranger things series #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #wtrstp⌂

[ihasafandom]

Carnage re-write P1

So I woke up today with Words in my head and instead of assisting with any of my ongoing fics my brain has decided to re-write Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage ://

So I guess we’re doing that. (Originally a quick outline; cleaning it a bit and posting on Feb 6 for @symbruary's Fix-It day)

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The movie had pretty effects and a decent soundtrack and some good action, but what it lacked was the heart and comedy of the first film (and the good good deep Venom voice, why is he so squeaky and annoying now??? (T o T) )

I’m not a comedy-writing person, and I’m not gonna be doing an actual fic or screenplay for this, so I’ll be keeping to the heart part. What gives a piece its heart I thnk are its emotional throughlines. Each character and relationship having their own story where they change from how they are at the start to how they are at the end, and having that story be concretely present and observable as the movie/book goes on.

There were hints of that in Venom2 but a lot of them fell flat, didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a satisfying change.

For example: both Eddie and Venom are frustrated with their relationship for X reasons. They fight, they separate, they do things on their own, but when they come back together they haven’t resolved any of the reasons that they broke up in the first place. Everything’s just magically better for no reasons and we are supposed to intuit that they are good for eachother and that they have improved as partners but we never really see that happen. Just a forced capitulation on Eddie’s part and the same traumabonding and extreme circumstances that made them work as a team in the first movie.

Another thing that sucked was how they dumped the uniqueness of certain characters and plots and emotional beats from the first movie to retread the same old tropes from everything else. Dan was unique and widely beloved in my parts of the fandom for not being a jealous jerk. He admired Eddie’s journalistic work, he dropped his dinner to do doctor work without complaint, he trusted Anne, and he didn’t fall into the stupid romcom plots even when Anne brought them up. Focused, intelligent, useful, kind, caring. A breath of fresh air. Entirely unlike how he acted in the second movie.

So let’s fix that.

Situation at the start of the movie:

Eddie is depressed, frustrated, and stressed. He is not used to being the self-control in a relationship, and is trying really hard to keep to his morals. He also needs to make enough money to keep them in food and home. He is lonely; he misses Anne and Maria and people in general since a large part of his solution to Venom is isolating them in their apartment so that they don’t eat people and don’t look crazy in public. He is spending all of his time and energy either trying to do work or keeping Venom entertained, controlled, and fed. He also might need some mood-stabilizing meds, he seemed heckin ADHD and/or autistic in the first movie.

Venom is stressed, bored, and starving. It is not used to not being able to do whatever it wants (bar keeping its head down around other symbiotes higher on the pecking order), it is not used to having to cooperated with a host, it doesn’t understand Eddie’s morals, it doesn’t understand Earth, it doesn’t understand money, it doesn’t understand human relationships and society. It needs higher quality food (mammalian, more variety, more human-specific chemicals since it’s bonded with a human), it needs enrichment, it needs to understand more about what its new situation is.

They both need to communicate and understand eachother and learn to find a balance that will get them both what they need. They also need a support system and an income stream.

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#carnage #let there be carnage #venom #venom let there be carnage #venom: let there be carnage #venom LTBC #V:LTBC #VLTBC #venom movie #carnage movie #venom 2018 #venom (2018) #sony venom #fandom #klyntar #symbiotes #symbruary #fit-it #fix-it #fixit #fix it #rewrite #venom rewrite #writing #meta #meta fic #My Stuff #symbruary day 1

[muertawrites]

If I asked you to do all of the alphabets sfw and nsfw? 😅

If not, sfw: D R J K and nsfw: A R F P

alphabets actually get kind of tedious and boring to write all in one go so i'd rather just write them as prompts

SFW:

Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Eddie wants to find a life partner, yes. But settle down? No. He's too free spirited for the whole "white picket fence" thing. He doesn't plan on settling anywhere until his body physically can no longer handle fucking around and finding out, but he does want someone to share it with. What he wants more than anything is to love someone and be loved in return.

Housekeeping wise, he's a disaster. He puts off housework until it gets completely out of hand. He's messy and chaotic and he thinks grilled cheese counts as a nice home cooked dinner. Precious but not house trained.

Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

Super jealous. Not in the possessive "if I can't have you no one can" way, but in the "I'm scared I'm not good enough and if someone better comes along you're going to leave me" way.

That doesn't mean it doesn't come out as aggression, though. He gets pretty testy towards anyone who might try to distract your affections. He gets tense, wrapping an arm around you in a very protective stance, keeping you as close as possible to him. His words come out really short and hostile to whoever the perceived competitor is.

When he's alone with you (after all threats have been eliminated) he gets very clingy and overly affectionate, holding you as if he wants to fuse bodies so he can be sure you're always with him. He's a very sensitive boi <3

Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Eddie's kisses are hot. He doesn't usually do a little peck on the lips (only in public, and only when he's trying to behave). He likes to kiss you long and deep, preferably with a little bit of tongue or a nibble on your lower lip. If he's kissing you anywhere but your mouth, those kisses are sloppy and wet but in the most weirdly affectionate way.

He'll kiss you anywhere and everywhere. If it's in reach of his lips, it's fair game. He could spend hours having a steamy makeout session with you.

Our poor touch starved boy is very sensitive, so almost anywhere you kiss him is bound to drive him crazy. What gets him most are his collarbones, though, and the crook of his neck. If you kiss - or heaven help him start sucking - him there, he'll start moaning like you're doing way more than just smooching.

Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

All the times you've bantered with each other, or laughed so hard you couldn't breathe. Clever things you've said to him are scrawled on the edges of his many notebooks, and he'll randomly start laughing at things that happened months ago.

[nsfw below the cut]

Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Lovey. Just. The softest man who ever lived. He showers you with little kisses, takes so much care cleaning you up, and gives you so much praise it's almost too much.

"You're so beautiful, baby. So good to me. You're so fucking gorgeous. I don't think even Venus herself is as pretty as you." (boy is like first in line to get smited by the gods for his blasphemy. also the past tense of "smite" is ACTUALLY "smote"?? i thought that was a joke that sounds RIDICULOUS)

Liked taking showers after sex. It's a very soft and intimate thing, which he feels makes up for the fact that sex with him often isn't soft or imitate.

Favorite Position (this goes without saying)

His favorite "normal" position is doggy. He likes it because he can get super deep and spank your ass / thighs. Also likes to bend over you and bite your shoulder or neck while he fucks you. He does also like reverse cowgirl but not as much - doggy is better because he can get closer to you.

For the more... creative ones, it's a tossup between the Stand and Deliver and the Pinball Wizard.

He loves Stand and Deliver (I stg that is NOT the site I thought I'd get a good reference from) when he's feeling more dominant. He likes holding your wrists and pinning them for leverage behind you, fucking you until you can't keep yourself standing anymore.

Pinball Wizard he likes for multiple reasons. 1) Killer name. 2) He can use his hands or a toy to pleasure you from the outside while his cock gets you nice and deep. 3) If you have tits he can watch them bounce. Man's not complicated - he likes boobs.

Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Eddie Munson likes it rough. He's practiced in the art of edging and loves to overstimulate you. He loves knowing that he can make you feel insanely good, like take you to fucking nirvana good, and he will do it. Again and again. Until you can't take it anymore.

Aftercare and pretty much everywhere outside the bedroom is where he gets his affection in.

Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Ohhhhhhhhhh yeah. Oh yeah. His porno mags aren't just for jerking off to. Anything he can try (with the consent of his partner), he will.

The only thing he won't do is the really hardcore stuff - bodily substances other than cum, noncon, serious physical or psychological injury, etc.

#eddie munson #eddie asks #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x gn!reader #eddie munson x reader smut #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #sfw alphabet #eddie munson headcanon

[violetrainbow412-blog]

A couple of curious cousins [E. M]

Eddie Munson x Tozier!reader

Warnings: Eddie has scars (and he's fucking sexy) ptsd basically on everyone's part, mention of death, a bit of angst, both sets of friends are so cute and I think that's all

word count: 8k

A/N: first, I need to apologize because I haven't touched tumblr in MONTHS. college and work were (one of them still) killing me, and for emotional reasons I just couldn't write. But during this period I watched both chapters of IT and thought, why not a crossover? There's a bit (just a pinch) of Blyer and Reddie in here, but I tried to keep it all focused on Ed. I hope you like this, it's obviously a crazy invention that I don't quite like but I'd rather it not end up in the trash Thanks for reading, tell me your opinion in a comment if you want<3

“Do you want to go to the movies next week? There's going to be a movie about robots and stuff coming out,” Lucas suggested, looking around at all of his friends.

A year had passed since the horrific events of the near destruction of Hawkins and the party were just adjusting to normal life again. Of all of them, perhaps the most affected (physically) was Max, since she still had a limp on one leg and needed glasses to see well, but with everyone's support, she had coped. The emotional aftermath, on the other hand, had hit everyone equally. Some still had nightmares and scars, but luckily no one had died. That was too much to say.

So now that they had finally gotten used to a slower pace of life and the emotional barriers between the group had broken down, they had all decided to go to the lake for a while to rest and celebrate the end of another school year. They were sitting on soft blankets, eating sandwiches Joyce had made for them and sent with her son.

"I can't, I'll have visitors," Mike snorted. Now that he and Eleven had decided to take a break from their relationship, his friendship with Will had grown stronger, even to the point of asking for an apology for all the times he had been a jerk to him. It really had been a year of ups and downs and many things had changed. They had done it themselves.

"What kind of visits?" Dustin asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.

"My cousins. They're from Maine and Mom invited them to spend a few weeks here, but I think they'll bring some friends and stuff. I don't know, I just know that there will be tremendously hateful people in my house and I'm already suffering because of that,” the black-haired man complained.

“Maybe it's not so bad,” Will said, shrugging, always trying to find the best part of everything.

"It will be, Richie is the worst you can imagine and surely his friends will be the same" he snorted, while the others laughed a little. Everyone knew that Mike was the biggest complainer in the group.

“And will you introduce them to us?” questioned Lucas, who was sitting next to Max and sharing a bag of chips with her “We'll be bored as hell this summer, even if they're obnoxious I want to meet them. Maybe there's even a pretty girl."

"That she probably won't listen to you," Max sneered, knowing that Lucas was only saying it to annoy her.

"Maybe we can make some new friends," Eleven murmured, as soft and kind as ever.

"That's a good idea, they might even like dungeons and dragons" added Will and followed by a general groan.

"If you want to talk for hours about nerdy things, you have Eddie," Dustin said with amusement.

"I'm kidding, calm down" clarified the young man. Will had also changed, in many ways, for now that the threats of the Upside down were gone (at least for a while) he was more relaxed and cheerful. Plus, he had finally grown his hair out and gotten a cut that Mike had suggested which definitely flattered him.

They continued to talk about more trivial matters, and the matter of the visit to the Wheeler house was almost forgotten. That was until a couple of days later Mike gave the fateful news that people were already installed in his house.

“The boy brought half of his classmates! I swear, they're like 6 and they're all chaotic” he complained to the Byers-Hopper siblings, who eventually told someone else until the whole world found out. Including the older ones in the group, who were already laughing about it.

"More kids to look after, huh, Harrington?" Eddie had said when he found out, while he was at it he had played Family video on his break at the auto shop to steal some of his friends' lunch.

"I truly believe that life is sending you those children you love so much through teenagers," Rob added, enjoying teasing his best friend who was stacking the movies.

The appearance of so many teenagers in the place hadn’t gone beyond jokes and teasing until Joyce and Hopper finally decided to organize a meeting in their cabin to which they clearly invited outsiders. After all, it was summer, what else were they going to do if not eat hamburgers and enjoy the outdoors?

"Do you bring the sodas?" Steve asked into the car; in the passenger seat was Dustin and in the back were Robin, Vickie, and Eddie respectively. Most people were already in the place and the sound of laughter and scandal reached where they were.

Between Eddie and Dustin, they loaded the bottles (because Steve didn't want to arrive empty-handed) but no one had time to say anything as a scream filled the air.

"Eddie!" they listened, which caused them to jump in place. It was a girl approaching them with a murderous look.

"Now what did you do?" Dustin said in a worried whisper.

"Nothing" answered the long-haired one almost immediately, but the way she was walking made him hesitate for a second. The five looked expectantly at the scene, imagining that the woman would slap the aforementioned or something like that, but when the time came, nothing like that happened. She only softened her features to look up and down at the man she had just noticed, incredibly attractive, by the way, while changing the angry scowl for an embarrassed smile.

"Huh, excuse me," you said politely, glancing quickly at the rest of the people who already had curious eyes on you. As soon as he moved out of the way and you took a couple of steps, you yelled again “Eddie! If you don't come right now, it's going to be very bad for you!”

"I'm here!" someone muttered out of who knows where. He was a skinny boy with black hair “My God, I just went for a walk. Just relax"

“It's not funny, Eddie. If you die on this trip, your mom will kill me” you exclaimed. They were still standing nearby, too curious to move, and saw a boy who looked like Mike Wheeler walk up to you.

"Stop being a neurotic bitch, he's fine"

“Call me a bitch again and I'm going to slam your myopic face into the ground,” you growled, pointing a finger at him. It was obvious that the discussion wasn't a matter that needed an audience, but for them it was very entertaining "Go back there, we must not be rude to our hosts" you scolded them, while you pushed them with both hands and the two teenagers walked awkwardly win.

Once you finished your look went over to the group of people who had been watching you and they were suddenly very embarrassed, as were you that they had seen your mommy act.

"We should go in," Vickie said quickly, always being the most cautious, but you came over a second later.

"I'm sorry you heard that, those children are sometimes a nightmare" you apologized "And it's hard to take care that they don't break something"

"We completely understand you" laughed one of them, whose name you didn't know, but he seemed very friendly "My name is Steve"

“I think I know you” you exclaimed with a smile, because after hearing the name you knew it was the boy who was once the Wheeler’s son-in-law “I'm, huh… Nancy's cousin. My name is Y/N”

"Nice to meet you. These are Rob, Vickie, Dustin, and…”

“Eddie” he was quick to say “I almost had a heart attack when you yelled my name” he laughed and you widened your eyes.

“God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you” you replied embarrassed. You would be lying if you said that the boy wasn’t the most beautiful for you and that is why you wanted to make a good impression. Apparently, you've already failed at that.

You couldn't help but look at them all. Dress up Nancy's ex-boyfriend in a colorful print shirt, the red-haired woman wearing a nice dress and hat, the girl next to her wearing khaki overalls over a green shirt, and the little one wearing shorts with a shirt that surely also belonged to Steve. But obviously, the one you turned your attention to the most was the brunette dressed in a dark shirt from a group that was probably metal with scars scattered on the side of his neck, part of his cheek, and one of his arms, with beautiful brown eyes. Three seconds had passed and you already wanted to know everything about him.

"It was nothing," he exclaimed nonchalantly.

“Are you going to enter? Honestly I'm a little hungry” said the curly-haired man, and more than a claim, this was heard as a joke.

The six of you walked in silence to the door where you had entered earlier and suddenly noticed the chaos inside. The rumors were true and there were at least 6 extra people concerning the usual meetings. With a quick glance, they realized that there was now another redhead talking animatedly to Eleven, who if they hadn't known could have sworn she was Max's long-lost sister. There was a chubby and shy boy sitting near them who also joined in the talk from time to time, with whom they seemed very comfortable. Will was sitting next to the copy of Mike with a goofy smile at the apparent joke the young man with glasses was telling him and the one they knew was called Eddie was just rolling his eyes next to them, not very convinced that he was funny enough. Further on, a tall curly-haired young man, a straight-haired one, and Mike were talking, while Lucas and another boy just like him were sharing a friendly conversation. It was a most interesting sight, to tell the truth.

"Who brought the whole kindergarten?" Eddie asked without thinking and he froze when he heard you laugh next to him.

“The frog-face with glasses,” you said pointing to a young man “He is my brother and he insisted that it would be fun for his friends to know more than just our little town” you replied with a soft laugh “But the 17-hour road trip was anything but fun for me”

"Guys!" Nancy greeted everyone, followed by who you had learned was her current boyfriend; Jonathan “I see you already met Y/N”

"An embarrassing accident" you joked, making a funny face. Eddie paid you a little more attention and was able to notice the slight resemblance you had with Nancy and at the same time with the dark-haired man with glasses sitting on the couch. You were pretty, that's for sure.

"You want to eat? Hopper is preparing meat on the patio and Joyce is in the kitchen” she exclaimed cordially. As for the adults, there was only the two of them and the Wheelers and for some reason also Murray Bauman, but they were enough to prepare food that looked delicious.

Everyone parted ways with their own favorites and the wave of greetings and introductions began, so you decided to stay put to avoid trouble, but you weren't the only one with that idea.

"So... you drove 17 hours here?" the curly-haired one asked to break the ice. So far he hadn’t seen your parents and that assumption was the one that seemed most logical to him.

“Could you believe it? I learned to drive a few years ago and my dad decided it was a good idea to take advantage of it one more time” you snorted.

"Where are you from?"

“Derry, it's in Maine” you explained “It's like here, but with more paranormal shit”

Oh, if you knew everything that had happened, Eddie highly doubted you would really think Derry fit those bills.

"Like ghosts and stuff?"

“I would say monsters” you continued. Eddie thought you were joking and just laughed, not realizing that Derry had as interesting a story as Hawkins itself.

As if your minds were connected you looked at a vacant chair and with a silent agreement you walked over to sit down.

"They look a lot alike. Your brother and Wheeler, I mean," Eddie observed.

"Our moms were sisters, I think their genes predominated" you laughed. He couldn't help but notice that you said they were instead of they are.

"And she didn't come?"

“I don't think she can come anymore. She is dead”

"Oh," the boy sighed. He must have imagined it and felt bad for asking such a reckless question "I'm so sorry."

“It's fine, it was a year ago already. Dad's been kind of depressed ever since and we haven't had a great time either, so she sent us here for a few weeks. You know, to distract us” you explained to him. Apparently you were telling him too much about your life but it wasn't like that; you were skipping the part where your mother was killed by a monstrous clown-clad creature that had preyed on you and the children “And I think it will work, I've had a lot of fun so far and met a lot of people. The only thing I could complain about is that it's fucking hot here” you exclaimed to lighten the mood, separating the already sweat-stained fabric from your body.

Eddie's attention dropped to your chest and the ridiculously revealing shirt you wore, which revealed your bare shoulders and part of your torso. The shorts didn't help his prying eyes too much either.

"It's summer, you can't ask too much of us"

"Aren't you hot with that hair?" you asked, reaching out to playfully pick up a curl near his cheek. It was a vacation in a town where you didn't know anyone, and there was a handsome man in front of you, of course you were going to flirt without shame.

"I don’t know, am I?” he joked, making you smile “Sometimes. But it's part of a metalhead's commitment,”

"I guess your shirt belongs to some band"

"Don't you know Judas Priest?" he asked and you gently shook your head. "So what kind of music do you listen to?"

"I like Madonna and Elton John" you shrugged and he made a face "Is there a problem with that?"

“Not my favorites, more Buckley or Stevie style,” he muttered, nodding at the two friends of his. Your eyes couldn't help but look at the scars on the boy's face and neck, thinking about what would have been so bad to leave that mark. Unfortunately, he noticed "They are ugly, right?"

"No, not at all" you quickly explained, embarrassment painting your face "I was just curious, sorry if I made you uncomfortable"

"You didn't," he assured you. The truth was that he was still trying to deal with the matter of his self-esteem after his visit and near death in the Upside down, but it was always easier for someone who had never seen him before to get used to the marks "They were made by some bats from another dimension, could you believe it?” he confessed to you, but by the laugh you let out he knew that you hadn’t believed him. Maybe it was easier that way, being transparent with someone who didn't take him seriously.

"Y/N" someone near you exclaimed. It was Bill, trying not to stutter, “Can we go into the woods for a walk?” 

“What do you ask him for? She's not your mom, let's just go!" Richie complained from afar, but the truth was that everyone present except him was waiting for your permission.

"You guys be careful, if something happens come back right away, okay?" you said and they nodded. You saw at least 10 teenagers leave the place laughing and murmuring and suddenly the place felt awfully empty, but luckily the spaces near you were filled by Nancy and her friends. Everyone was very nice and even the adults got in on the chat. It was clear that everyone there had a great unity and, although at first you felt out of place, seeing them talk to each other pleasantly warmed your chest. Most of the questions went to you, of course, for being the only one who didn't live in Hawkins. About where you and the kids studied, what the town was like, what each of your friends was like, childhood memories, and even Eddie asked if you had a boyfriend, with the most shameless smile of all, which only grew when you said no.

You learned a lot from them, about how the Byers and the Hoppers were now one family, about the kids' problems, their hobbies, personal information about everyone present your age, each other's jobs, and God only knows how many things.

You had never chatted so much in a single afternoon and even your aunt Karen let you share a few beers with your new friends, even though everyone there had consumed and drunk worse things, and you were so happy that when you least expected it all the children were already back. When they entered it seemed as if they had been a single group all their lives.

"Did you see how Stanley jumped when we found that bug?"

"You shut up Richie, you were scared by a frog"

"You're good at climbing trees, Lucas!"

"Oh, Will, I'm so tired."

“So you once got into a drain? That's fucking disgusting!"

Those were some of the phrases that you managed to register within the conversations, since everyone spoke at the same time and with a fairly high volume.

"Did you guys have fun?" Joyce asked with a smile, reaching out to hug her son from the side, who nodded from her place. Both she and her husband looked happy that the boy had a smile and after everything they had told you, you were also a little happy. They didn't tell you the full story, for obvious reasons, they just told you that Will had had a very bad few years due to multiple illnesses and family problems.

"I think we are abusing your hospitality Joyce, we have to go now" Karen murmured, as she noticed that the night had already fallen on the town. She worried you about how you would get home in a couple of cars, even though the people who were there were exactly the same as the ones who had arrived.

Both women exchanged a few words and hugged each other goodbye, while you took a look at your brother and his friends.

"Losers" you called them, more as a kind of endearment than really a tease "It's time to go"

You heard a collective groan and tried to suppress a smile as you turned the other way, but a second later you collided with a warm body that held you up to prevent you from falling.

"Careful," he laughed, looking down at you. His hands were on your elbows and felt callused against your skin. The contact didn't last more than a few seconds and then he looked at his younger friends "It's time to go too, Steve will take you first" he informed them. Most got up and walked towards the exit as they said their goodbyes.

You and Eddie stood facing each other in a moment of comfortable silence, and then you smiled at each other.

"I guess I'll see you around, huh?"

"I'm free the day you want"

"Are you this forward with all the girls?"

"I'm just being nice" he replied with a shrug "If you want to walk around town or have a good time, just look me up"

With such a cute face and such a charming attitude, of course you were going to do it.

Your days at Hawkins are over and as promised, you had hung out with Eddie Munson on more than one occasion.

It seemed as if he was stalking you, because when you went out somewhere he was magically walking around. Whether it was shopping, going to the park, or walking around the city; he was there. The truth seemed creepy to you at first, but he swore with his soul that it was all about coincidences, the same version that you ended up believing and accepting.

Your brother and the children were having a great time, as there was always something they could do. Even the ones you thought would have the most trouble fitting in, like Beverly, Ben, or Stanley, were quickly making friends.

One night someone called the Wheelers' house and you were surprised when they said it was a call for you. Who was going to call you? Your first thought landed on your father, but you were surprised to hear not his raspy voice but a softer one on the phone.

“I just wanted to know what you were doing. I was bored” Eddie had told you, in a lame excuse. You answered and from that, you had a conversation that took all afternoon. It had been something new for you, because most of the time talking on the phone was something that was very uncomfortable for you, and that was repeated more than once.

In the end, there were so many calls that Nancy was merciful to you and she gave you her old landline phone to put in the room you were staying in so you could talk to Eddie more freely. All the kids, including Mike, were staying in the basement, and once you caught them eavesdropping on your conversation, infinitely grateful that he hadn't thought to flirt in some way.

Because he was very flirtatious, too much for your taste, but it always seemed to come naturally. As if Eddie behaved like this with everyone or was a second language. You were comforted (and let's be honest, also disappointed) a little bit that the way he talked to you was the same as his friend Steve or his friend Robin or even Nancy and Jonathan. But there was something about the way he looked at you that was different. He made you feel nervous and even unprotected, always with those big bright brown eyes following your steps. But part of you liked the attention and having him hover around you waiting for you to say literally anything to smile at you.

The absence of your father and the fact that your little brother was busy almost all day made you feel confident to play along with the curly and unruly hair, something that you had not allowed yourself too much in recent years. You'd had a few boyfriends, but the Derry disappearances, the murders, and having to babysit a group of teenagers had robbed you of an enviable love life. So even though this wasn't someone you'd go so far as to marry, for example, this thing you had with Eddie was interesting. And with any luck, you might even get a kiss or two.

A blow in the distance made you jump and you suddenly became aware of where you were. A new bowling alley had opened and your aunt suggested you go check it out, so the whole gang had gotten together to go.

The weeks you had spent in Hawkins were enough for a friendship to form between both groups of teenagers and that was why they were having so much fun, but frankly you were starting to get bored.

“Hey, beauty,” said a voice next to you that made you jump. It was Eddie, of course, who looked freshly showered and smelled of intoxicating cologne that made you want to bury your head in his neck. You felt a little embarrassed about the clothes you were wearing, because it was literally the first thing you found thrown in your suitcase "How you doing?"

"Eddie" you pronounced softly, a smile automatically spreading across your face "what are you doing here?"

“Heard you were coming so I thought I'd stop by to say hi,” he mumbled, pretending it wasn't a big deal “Do you want to go out with me, or are you having too much fun to leave it?”

"I could die of joy" you replied sarcastically. The idea of ​​being alone with him was great but you still didn't want to leave the kids alone. He felt wrong and if something happened to them you couldn't live with the guilt so you barely had time to think about it before he spoke again.

“In that case, there's a nice place on the shores to talk and stuff, so I thought maybe you'd like to go with me. We can buy things to eat and drink, but you don't have to go if you don't want to,” he said, speaking a little softer at the last part.

"But what about the children?"

"What is going on with them?"

"I don't want to leave them here"

"They'll be fine," he said, completely unconcerned "Let's talk to them, okay?" Eddie got up from his place and took your hand to get you up too, guiding you to where the others were. When Max noticed Eddie he smiled and she was the first one he approached "Hello, Red" he greeted her kindly. Nearby were Eleven and Beverly, who also leaned in to hear him "Listen, I want to take this lady for a walk with me, but for that, I need someone to watch the bunch of fools that are playing right there" He pointed at the men, with one of their ringed fingers, who were arguing heatedly over a point on the board. "Would you guys be so kind as to help us with that?" he asked and the three girls nodded. Eddie seemed to have an effect not only on you, but on your younger peers as well. Both he and Steve could ask them for any favor and they would be delighted to do so "You are angels, thank you"

"But can I hit them if they disobey me?" Max asked, causing Eddie to burst out laughing.

"Just a little, okay?"

"Boys!" you called them and all the mentioned ones looked in your direction "I have to go to a place; the girls stay in charge"

"What?! Why them?” Richie complained.

“Because I want you to make it to the end of the night alive” you replied without thinking and a shiver ran through you. Richie was a hateful thing most of the time, but you couldn't imagine your life if something happened to him. "You guys just be nice and call my Aunt Karen if you need anything, okay?" They all nodded and you'd swear you heard Richie blurt out an indecent comment, but you didn't pay attention to it. You looked for a pay phone and Eddie lent you a coin so you could call home. No one answered and even though you tried again, it stayed the same. They were probably out for dinner or just spending time away from their guests.

You got into Eddie's van in silence and he asked if you wanted to listen to anything in particular, but when he heard you say no, he decided to put on a rock cassette he had lying around.

"So…" he began, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, his gaze on the road and seeing him so focused made you feel strangely drawn, "Shall we stop at a grocery store?"

You didn't buy much, just a bag of chips and drinks for both of you: a beer and a strawberry soda.

“I like your chain” you murmured at some point during the trip. Whenever you were with him his neck was a point of attention and therefore anything that was in it, today was a silver chain.

“A present from my uncle, a long time ago.” He smiled. “We know a guy in Indiana who sells all kinds of silver stuff and I sometimes shop there. They are expensive, but at least they don't stain your skin and they are quite durable” he explained. The young man's ability to create a conversation from anything was surprising "The only disadvantage is that if one day I became a vampire, I would never be able to use them again"

"Oh yes, that's the most common" you replied sarcastically, followed by a laugh "Are you really worried about becoming a vampire?"

"You never know," he simply replied, shrugging. He stopped near a park that was nearly empty at this hour. The lighting was dim and the benches looked rusty, with grass growing sloppily under them. Eddie came downstairs without saying anything and at first you thought he was being rude, but then you saw him appear from your side to open the door and you smiled with pleasure.

As soon as you sat down on the bench, the intention that Eddie had when taking you there crossed your mind; a place almost in darkness, secluded, silent and wide… maybe it was just trying to get between your pants. And it wasn't like it bothered you, you just felt slightly disappointed that he was being so nice with that sole intention. But as you two talked, you discovered that maybe you were misunderstanding and what he wanted was just that: to talk and that's it.

"So you play the guitar?" you asked after he made the mention of his band. The fries were gone and you two were relaxing, and he nodded to your question "And you're good at it?"

"I can't judge myself, to say yes would be presumptuous and to say no would be foolish," he argued, with an amused grin.

"You have very pretty lips," you said without thinking. His eyes widened and when he looked at you, you noticed that his cheeks had flushed. Your comment had taken him off guard and even you felt embarrassed, which you tried to mask with a laugh.

"Regularly when someone is looking at my lips it's because they want to kiss me" you wanted to answer that it wasn't like that, but when he gently bit his lower lip your eyes went there and the words got stuck in your throat. Once your gaze met his, you caught a glimpse of a peculiar mischievous glow and swore he was going to kiss you right then. But it was you who walked away when your eyes caught the scarlet glow of a balloon floating behind Eddie.

You were paralyzed with fear at that simple appearance and the feeling only intensified when you noticed a red-haired figure who was dressed in white and was hiding in the bushes. It was grinning at you ghoulishly and you felt like you were going to throw up when he raised his gloved hand to show you something. It looked like a piece of cloth with black and white figures that were smeared with red all over. It took you barely a second to realize what it was; it was Richie's shirt.

“No…” you said, your voice breaking. Eddie was surprised by your change in attitude, especially when you got up from the bench and your face turned pale.

“Hey, what's up? Did I misunderstand something?” he asked with concern.

But you couldn't speak, you couldn't move: you were completely paralyzed with fear. So many memories had suddenly come to him that it was nauseating. You even swore to smell the iron in the blood, as if you were the one who was hurt.

“We have to…we have to go,” you stuttered, staring into the bushes expecting the bloody clown to jump at any second.

He tried to follow your gaze but at that very moment, the lights above your heads flickered in uneven patterns, which made Eddie tense. Many questions crossed his mind: Had you seen something that he didn't? Was Vecna ​​haunting the town again? And you, seeing him so nervous, also wondered if he had finally noticed the horrible clown that was a few meters from you.

"Let's get out of here," he said, giving no room for complaint or question. Eddie took your hand while still looking in the direction of the lights and you let him drag you away while you stared into the bushes where there now seemed to be nothing.

You got into the van in record time and once inside you felt that the air was beginning to fail you. In your head there was only Richie's name repeating itself over and over again, filled with despair by the image you had witnessed. You were sure that this was his shirt, precisely the one he had put on that day.

Eddie, on the other hand, wasn't as upset as you were, but the flickering of the lamps had brought back unpleasant memories. And that signal made him think that you had seen something; how was he going to explain to you what it was about? Sometimes even he didn't understand.

The man drove a few meters to the road and when he took a look at you, he noticed that his hands were shaking. He expected you to ask questions or say anything, maybe a startled comment about how you just saw a six-foot monster rolling around, but when you finally looked at him you only sobbed a few words.

"I need to find my brother, please"

He asked you if you were okay and asked what had happened there, getting no response other than something along the lines of “take me to Richie” or “I need to see my brother”.

The road was faster than last time and you asked him to go directly to the Wheelers' house, since you had probably taken so long that they were already there. Or at least that's what you hoped.

You got out of the car as soon as he parked, stumbling a bit in your haste, and walked across the porch with Eddie following you by just a few steps. When you arrived, you knocked on the door insistently, feeling the adrenaline rushing through your body and the beating of your heart completely accelerated. It was Mike who opened the door for you, a confused expression on his face.

“Y/N?”

"And Richie?" you asked bluntly, but instead of waiting for an answer you pushed your cousin aside and walked down the hall. You could hear the laughter of the young people, probably from the room, and you expected to find him there. But upon arrival, a quick scan was enough to realize that he wasn’t there.

"Something happened?" murmured Ben, who was one of the most perceptive in the group, noticing your pale face.

"Where's Richie?" you exhaled, feeling suddenly dizzy and tears stinging your eyes. It wasn’t difficult to think why you had that question and this put everyone on alert, even those who did not know your situation. When Eddie reached your side, his gaze went directly to Jane.

“The lights… it happened again”

"Will," she said almost immediately, her eyes reflecting the same panic as you. Everyone almost jumped to their feet, each group understanding their own bizarre situation, and you started scouring the house looking for the two boys.

Your breathing began to be erratic and you had to hold on to the wall to keep from falling. Eddie, noticing this, walked over to you and grabbed you by the elbows.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" he said, genuinely worried about you. One of his hands went up to your face to force you to look at him and somehow seeing his big, brown, frightened eyes made you feel back in the real world.

You wanted to tell him everything. You wanted to tell him about your mother, about the clown, about the terrible disappearances, and about the panic that caused you to think that this thing had probably come back and taken your little brother. Even if he didn't understand a word, you just wanted to let it go.

"I found them!" someone yelled and your feet moved on their own in that direction. You were expecting the worst, but when you arrived you found your brother stuck in a kind of closet with a cigarette in his hand and Will Byers in front of him.

"What the hell, man?" Richie said, rather annoyed at the interruption. You pulled him by the arm to get him out of the closet and when you looked him up and down Richie thought you were going to give him the worst scolding of his life, but instead he felt you pull him towards you and hug him. Honestly, he preferred the scolding “What are you doing? Let me go!" he whimpered. You breathed properly for the first time and with your hands you looked for some kind of wound, but you found nothing. You took a moment to bask in relief that he was safe and sound, but as soon as this moment was over you pulled away and yanked hard on his ear, only making him complain more.

“Are you an idiot, are you? I thought something had happened to you! I… I… I thought you were dead” you exclaimed in a sob. You didn't mean to cry, but you were already doing it.

"Why should I be?" he said as a first reaction, not really understanding your point, it wasn't until you whispered a soft 'I saw it' that his face turned pale and his lips exhaled an expression of understanding.

"Wait a minute, are you smoking?" Mike said, glaring red-cheeked with anger at Will. That brought you back to reality and you observed the cigarette, as well as the smell that your brother emanated.

“Oh, you are so dead, Tozier” you exclaimed without thinking, but instantly you covered your mouth with a hand “No, no… I don't mean that. I'm so sorry. I love you” you completed immediately, with a sweeter voice, and then gave him another hug and a quick kiss on the forehead. But just as the sweetness came, that's how fast it left, because you pulled the dark-haired man by the arm and ripped the cigarette out of his hand to put it out on the floor "If I see you doing that shit again, it's going to be very bad for you, and I also don't want you to be perverting other people so that they accompany you in your idiocies”

"But we were just chatting!" he defended himself. He looked at his friend for a second and then he looked at Eddie (the young one, of course) who looked really upset, with the same look that Mike was giving your brother, while Will was just flushed with embarrassment. You didn't know what was going on between those four, but you were too busy lecturing the guy with glasses to really think about it.

At some point, the groups parted noticeably and when they approached to check on you, you spoke in whispers, explaining that the sight of Derry's favorite killer clown had probably just been your paranoia. Eddie, for his part, was talking the same way to the youngsters, muttering things about the state you'd put yourself in and how likely it was due to the sight of some creature from the upside down.

In the end, you sent all the children to sleep, and from that point on you didn't know what happened to them, because you just stood in the corridor with a pain well installed in the back of your neck and a sudden tiredness.

"You okay?" you heard behind you. You had forgotten about Eddie, about your date with him, and about how you almost kissed him, all because of the terror of imagining that Richie was dead.

“Oh, yeah,” you said turning around. He was watching you with tender, careful eyes and there was a silent question in the air. You decided to close the distance and let his arms wrap around you warmly "I'm… I’m sorry about all that"

"Don't apologize" he replied and although he didn't ask for an explanation, you decided to offer it.

“It's just… my mom died in a horrible way and we all witnessed it. Since then we have been very afraid that this will happen again and I think that… the fatigue and the heat and all the change of environment affected me and I thought I saw something that was not there. That's why I needed to get there so fast, I was afraid that… you know” you sighed, not daring to say it. There was silence for a moment and to try to eliminate the discomfort you spoke again "Sorry if I scared you"

"No, you didn't" he was quick to say "I was just thinking that something similar happened to me and my friends a long time ago and... well, sometimes we can see crazy things, right?" he tried to cheer you up. The truth is that it wasn't very good, but it was enough for you to feel that he wasn't judging you “What I'm trying to say is that I understand you in a way and it's okay what happened, we both care about our brothers. Well, your brother and my children” he laughed. The natural and paternal way in which he referred to the young people touched you.

You separated to look at him and one of your hands reached almost by itself to his cheek, the one where he had the scar. Your index finger trailed along the edge of it and there was something about that caress that felt too intimate for Eddie like you were two longtime lovers sharing a routine moment.

“Sorry for ruining our date”

"Was that a date?" he said, more meant to joke than to make fun of you. You felt silly for a second, until you heard him laugh "I didn't know you liked me so much"

"I thought that meant pulling me out of the bowling alley for snacks and taking me to a point in the middle of nowhere just to stare at my lips while I talked," you said, trying to sound as confident as possible so he wouldn't notice that you were a mess inside.

"Sorry? You were the one who said I had pretty lips. If anyone here was dying for a kiss, it was you” he smiled. Suddenly your face was hot and the air around you felt heavier, as if all the tension you had hours ago had returned in a heartbeat. You didn't realize it, but your lips parted to release a sigh and Eddie swallowed, completely nervous.

The next thing was the obvious: your lips and his coming together in long-awaited contact. It started slow and careful, but it didn't take long for the bites and tongues to kick in. You wish you were thinking a little more like an adult instead of making out passionately with a guy you barely knew in the middle of the hallway at your aunt and uncle's house, but the truth was that having someone like Eddie around you could barely form a coherent thought connection. His hand hovered carefully on the edge of your waist, almost reaching your breast but not really touching it, while your hand had already left his cheek and flown to his silky hair thanks to the styling cream he had put on before seeing you and, to be honest, you probably would have kept kissing him for quite a while if it hadn't been for the sound of the front door opening.

"My aunt,” you said, breathing hard and with a nervous smile "Come, hide" you exclaimed, taking his hand to drag him to the room you shared with Nancy. She was sleeping with Jonathan that day and you felt the situation couldn't be more perfect. It wasn't like you wanted to get into anything more with Eddie, you just… didn't want to stop having him around.

“I'll climb out the window,” he muttered, immediately grasping (from his logic) where this was going. More than once he'd had to sneak out of someone's house and right now it didn't seem to bother him.

“I was thinking maybe you could stay,” you said quickly, before you lost the courage to do so “It's late and… I just thought we could spend the night together. Like… maybe… just sleep,” you explained, hoping he didn't think you were suggesting something else. Your intentions were sincere, you just wanted to be with him a little longer.

"Will you bear my talking in the night?" he said playfully, giving an implied response to your invitation. You managed to get into your pajamas in record time and he only got rid of the most uncomfortable things from his outfit before falling into bed with you. Both of you were staring at the ceiling, giving you a sidelong glance. "Is this okay for you?"

“Uh-huh,” you nodded with a smile. He hardly dared to move or touch you, so you moved closer in the hope that he would give you some of his warmth. Still without looking at him, you rested your head on his shoulder and he did the same on yours. It was a comfortable, friendly, and calm position.

“I like you, Y/N” he ​​blurted out “Just in case you haven't noticed” he added, making you smile. You kept silent to think that it was pertinent to answer.

"I like you too, Eddie" you finished saying. One of your hands shyly traveled to his and you started playing with your fingers for a while in which both of you were silent. "I'm glad I came to Hawkins this summer, you know?"

“I'm glad you're here” he imitated you, smirking even though you couldn't see him “I was thinking that when you leave maybe I should visit you one day”

"Will you travel 17 hours just to see me?" you asked with a sour laugh. You hadn't thought about the distance thing until now that he brought it up and you didn't want to dwell on it too much, dreading the idea that you were literally on different ends of the country.

"Perhaps. It will be fun. And I can take the children, so they know your place. Like a family trip,” he exclaimed. The light in the room was still on and you reached out a bit to turn it off and continue talking.

"You do not have siblings?" you asked curiously, because the family was a subject that you had only superficially approached during these weeks of knowing him.

“No, my mom died before I could have one. And then my dad ended up in jail so the chances were greatly reduced” he exclaimed casually. You had no idea that he had been through that and you felt bad in some way, but when you told him that you were sorry, he shook his head "It doesn't matter anymore, life has put good people in my way" he smiled. Hearing him say those things only showed that he was such a sensitive, kind and pure man that it was hard to believe “But I imagine he must be cute. You cared too much about Richie."

"He has his good times and his bad times," you said quietly. The darkness was making you drowsy, but you refused to let go of the moment. “Can you tell me a story?” 

"Huh?"

“A story” you repeated. His skin was soft and warm against yours. “Something from when you were little or… something with your friends, I don't know. I just… want to hear your voice” you kindly asked. Eddie blushed at this and nodded, then started telling you about how he met most of his friends. He told you about his band, his school, his club, and a thousand other things that you listened to carefully until late at night, when both of you gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep peacefully, having the peace of mind that on waking the space next to the bed wouldn’t be empty.

taglist: @sweetdayme44274427 @smol-book-nerdd @ilikewomendealwithit @harringt8ns @katsukis1wife @ilovereadingfanfics-blogs

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things 4 #joseph quinn #IT #losers club #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #mike wheeler #will byers #it x stranger things

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

If it had been Eddie there for the six kids conversations. ❤️‍🔥

MINORS DNI

Warning: smut, Steve being called mommy, breeding kink. Also, when you get to the bandana scene I am not sure if this will work but it is fanfiction so whatever goes, you know? It's a thick bandana, okay. Also, this is my first time writing smut in detail so be gentle with me please. This actually wasn't supposed to turn into smut but everywhere you go there you are. 😂

"Six kids?! We already have six. Well seven if you include Erica but I think that kid might just be her own mom. But hey, if you want another kid then I'll give you another kid. So, when do you want to do this? I know Daddy's always ready to go but what about Mommy?" Eddie asked winking at him.

Eddie was messing with him, Steve knew, but he couldn't help but nearly choke when Eddie called himself daddy and Steve mommy. He tried to focus on driving straight because he certainly wasn't thinking straight. It was difficult with Eddie right there next to him and heat pooling in his stomach because of what he said. The image of baby making with Eddie was crazy because they were two men and yet, he could see Eddie on top as he pounded away inside of him. . .filling him up. Eddie's long hair glistened with sweat and his doe eyes were dark with arousal. Fuck. Steve’s pants were suddenly tighter than before as he thought of Eddie's hips rolling into his as he gripped Steve’s thighs, locking his legs behind him. In his mind he could see the sweat dripping off of Eddie's face and he swore he could feel it drip onto his own skin.

"Whatcha thinking about over there, Harrington?" Eddie's voice breaking through his vision.

Steve looked over at him to find the metalhead grinning wickedly at him. He knew, the proof evident in Steve’s lap.

"Fuck you," Steve whispered.

"That can be arranged," he said and leaned closer to him. "Everyone nodded off back there. Let me take care of that. You're going to need to cum in this. Unless. . .you don't want me to."

He tossed him his bandana as he reached over to hover his hand over Steve’s hard cock.

"I want you," he whispered softly and Eddie smiled.

Eddie helped Steve move his pants and boxers down and wrapped the bandana around his length, slowly pumping away at it. Steve bit his lip to contain his moan and Eddie grinned at him.

"You like that, big boy?" He asked pausing. "OH, big boy is definitely a good nickname for you."

It was a weird position for Eddie to be in but he knew how much uncomfortable Steve would be if he had left him like that. It was hard to believe that Steve Harrington was letting him do this. . .that he wanted him to. It was his wet dream come to life minus the kids in the back and the impending doom that they were about to face. Eddie did feel guilty about doing this with the kids so nearby but they were asleep. Hopefully they stayed that way while mommy and daddy were busy. This situation needed to be dealt with.

He stroked away, his thumb brushing over the tip and Steve let out a guttural moan as he thought of Eddie's tongue licking it. Eddie sped up, hoping to get him there quicker.

"What do you need, mommy?" Eddie asked. "What do you want?"

"Keep calling me mommy. Please, daddy?" Steve asked, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

Eddie tried not to imagine a wrecked Steve trembling and moaning beneath him. It was difficult not to when he made that face, when he asked him to call him mommy. . . Shit.

"You like that, mommy? You like the idea of me filling you up with my seed? You want me to get you good and pregnant, babygirl? You want the freak to make you a mommy? Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy," he whispered harshly.

Steve let out a relieved sigh as he came into Eddie's hand and bandana. Eddie grinned as he tried not to spill any of it as he maneuvered it to his mouth, tipping Steve’s cum down his throat. Eddie turned to him and showed that he swallowed all of it.

"Okay, now, you're going to have to not look over here while daddy takes care of himself otherwise it's going to be a back and forth situation here with no end in sight," he said and turned away.

Later, after they came back from the War Zone the party settled in an empty field to prepare for what was about to happen. Eddie was alone in the RV while everyone was outside when Steve came in and locked the door. He stood in front of Eddie, so close that the metalhead could feel his breath on his face.

"You were wrong," Steve said to him.

"I'm generally wrong about a lot of things, Stevie, you're going to have to be more specific," Eddie said, booping him on the nose.

"About Nancy. It hasn't been like that for a very long time and I doubt it will ever be again," Steve told him. "I don't want her."

"Yeah, then what do you want?" He asked and Steve cupped the other man's face, his thumbs brushing softly against his skin.

"Thought that was obvious, daddy," he said teasingly and pressed his lips to Eddie's very quickly. "I want you, pretty boy."

"Pretty? Me?" He asked, blushing.

"Very pretty," Steve said.

It was Eddie's turn to kiss him, pressing his body against Steve’s and wrapping his arms around his neck. Steve’s arms enveloped Eddie's waist as he deepened the kiss and suddenly Eddie's feet was leaving the floor as Steve picked him up.

"Fuck me!" Eddie exclaimed as he broke the kiss and wrapping his legs around Steve’s waist.

"That can be arranged," Steve said with a smirk as he leveraged Eddie against the wall of the RV.

"Goddamnit! That was hot. You're hot. Fuck. I think I can die happy," Eddie said rambled.

Steve ignored the knawing feeling in his gut when Eddie said that last part. He wasn't going to let this man die if he had anything to say about it and he did have something to say about it. Vecna was killed, brought down before he could harm Max while Steve carried a bleeding Eddie out of the Upside Down. He refused to leave his side as he healed, leaving only to eat and tend to his own wounds. This man he had only really known for a few days but he had made such an impact on him that Steve that he couldn't imagine a future without him in it. When Eddie opened his eyes Steve cried and kissed him, not caring that their friends were in the room. Dustin was the one that hollered.

"I could have set you up with each other THIS WHOLE TIME?! I didn't know that was an option, I would have done it a long time ago!" Dustin exclaimed and everyone laughed as he put his hands on his hips. "My two favorite people. . . Goddamn."

#stranger things #eddie munson #joseph quinn #stranger things s4 #eddie stranger things #eddie munson lives #steve harrington #steve x eddie #steddie #steddie fanart #steddie fanfic #steddie fan fiction #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanart #steve harrington fanart #steve harrington fanfiction #stranger things fanart #fanart #joe keery #steddie fanfiction #steddie smut

[mimimimelis]

Dealer

I'm not sure how many words this is. This is my first time writing in a few years so please go easy on me 😭 lol. Let me know if you want a part 2. Also i will take requests! Although I'm still figuring how to set up my page and all of that. Anyways enjoy!

Summary: You found yourself touching up your lipstick before going to meet up with your longtime dealer, Eddie Munson. He was more than your dealer, you could consider each other best friends. But a part of you hated that. You wanted to be more than friends, you wanted to be his girlfriend. And what happens when your long time friend pushes you to your limits and you spill your big secret.

__________________________________________

You sat in your car, looking at your mirror, touching up your faded liner and applying a little bit more of your dark red lipstick then you implied.

As you got out of your car and headed to the door of his trailer. You could hear the sound of his guitar. God how you loved to see him play, especially when he would learn your favorite songs for you. You knocked on the door and it was just moments later when Eddie’s uncle, Wayne, opens the door. “Hey Mr. Munson!” you said. “Hi sweetie, Eddie’s in his room go on ahead. Let him know I’m leaving real soon. I'm gonna go watch the game with some buddies.” He explained. “Sure thing, have fun and be safe!” You said before you headed to Eddie’s room. You knocked a few times before opening the door and stepping in.

Ah. There he was.

A sound of relief from seeing his face after such a stressful day came out naturally. He was sitting on the corner of his mattress with only pajama pants on. He looked so beautiful to you. The way his fingers glided across the strings, the way his hands looked so veiny. His soft brown hair tucked behind his ear. It had only been moments since you stepped into the room but it felt like hours in a good way. He looked up to you, he gives you a cheeky smile.

“Y/n! Baby! Come give me a hug pretty girl!” He said with such excitement. You walk to him and throw yourself to him. God you were so stressed out. Your job wasn’t as easy as it used to be. You almost end up making Eddie fall back but he holds you tight. “God you have no idea how much I needed that.” You mumbled into his shoulder. “What’s up princess? What’s got you so stressed?” Eddie said while rubbing your back. You let him go and sit beside him. “Work. Work’s stressing me out. I mean I’ve tried everything to try to relax. I really mean EVERYTHING.”

He knew exactly what you meant by that. "Ohh. Really? This job has you this stressed??" you nodded with a frown. "Yk princess you could quit your job and let me take care of you." Eddie said very softly. "What, that's crazy. Why would you do that?" you said shaking your head in an awkwardly fast pace.

Eddie chuckles "jokes sweetheart, jokes. but say the word and I will. I care about you so much, I mean we've been best friends since the moment we met."

Ouch. friends. he said best friends.

Eddie could see the bitter look on your face.

"What"

"Oh. nothing I'm fine."

"Don't do that."

"Do what," you knew what.

"Lie, don't lie. Tell me, since when do you keep things from me?"

"There's nothing to say really. nothing." you said while putting on your best poker face. "Oh really? I don't believe you." And of course Eddie saw through that.

Eddie stands. He's a good amount taller than you, and much much stronger than you. He hovers over where you sit. "I really just want to relax and hang out with my best friend right now." you said while looking down. "I know sweetheart, I didn't mean to push." he says while walking to his drawer next to his bed. "But i do have something you might enjoy, and it'll most definitely calm you down." He proceeds to take out one of the most fastest blunts you have ever seen.

"wow" was all that came out of your mouth. Eddie lights it and holds out the blunt to let you take the first hit. you inhale as much as you could, coughing a little while blowing the smoke out. "oh my god. I love you." you say closing your eyes and laying back on Eddie's bed. "I know you do sweetheart." He says before sitting in the spot next to you. "I was talking to the blunt but sure babes I love you too." you say with a small laugh.

"Wow I know where I stand now." Eddie says with a hand over his chest and a overly exaggerated sad face. "Oh don't be a cry baby, you know you're the most important boy in the world to me." You say with your eyes closed half way sitting up against the wall.

"Yeah I am right now but, who knows." Eddie says in a very soft voice. "what do you mean? you know you're stuck with me for life right?" you say as you open your eyes and scoot closer to him. You lay your legs on top of his. "I know you think that right now but you're gonna get married eventually. You're gonna find a new most important boy."

"that's crazy, you know that right."

"It's really not, it's going to happen soon." eddie says as he looks up at you.

"yeah it's going to happen never." you say with a awkward chuckle.

"Oh c'mon y/n, I can tell you like him. just tell me alreadyyy" He tells you while placing his hand on your knee and making small circles with his fingers. He only did that when he was nervous or sad.

You look to him with a confused look. "Like who?" you say. "Oh c'mon it's so obvious, Derek your little coworker." he says wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh. ew. seriously. You think I like Derek?!"

"You don't have to deny it anymore, I saw you last time when I picked you up. you were hugging him."

"hugging means nothing. I was telling him thank you since he helped me so much that day." You weren't lying, but you weren't saying the full truth either. You worked at a music shop, and Derek was a coworker you had gotten close with over the past few months. He was a year younger than you and you saw him as a little brother.

"I don't knoww. you seemed pretty smiley that day." Eddie was very persuasive in getting things out of you. "Yeah we had a very nice conversation." "about what?" shit. you couldn't say what you guys truly talked about, which was Eddie, and that day Derek had asked how long you and Eddie had been together. You corrected him and told him you guys were just friends but what he said had stuck in your head like gum in hair. "I would've thought you guys were married or something with the way he looks at you."

You took the blunt from Eddie's hand and quickly responded "work stuff." before starting to take little hits from the blunt. You knew you had to get more in your system. You could feel the nerves in your body becoming more alert.

"Work?" he asks in an oddly soft suspicious voice. You nod. "Work had you that happy? I thought work was stressing you out?"

You try to come up with something quick. "It is, we had just gotten a new shipment of music that day."

"You don't get shipments on Thursdays."

"what? oh yes of course- um it was an early shipment."

"why are you lying to my face," his voice got serious.

"I'm not." your face was getting warm again.

"Stop lying. You've been pushing me away lately, you don't sleepover anymore, you barely tell me things going on in your life."

"I'm not trying to push you away Eddie I swear. I just-"

"Did I do something?"

"What? No no Eddie i swear it's nothing. it's stupid" you couldn't tell him not now you couldn't let your stupid feeling ruin this.

"Then tell me what it is."

"I can't. I don't what it to ruin anything."

"It won't."

"How are you so sure. you'll think i'm pathetic."

"Please y/n just talk to me. Nothing will change the way I feel for you. You're my y/n, my best friend."

"please stop." you say as your eyes turn glossy, almost spilling out tears.

"Talk to me."

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"I-"

"What's so bad you can't tell me y/n?"

"l- I'm."

At this point Eddie had brought you to his lap. You had nowhere to move. You could feel his breath, his scent, so familiar. His eyes looking down at you in the softest way you've ever seen them.

"I'm in love with you." you said in the softest voice, it was almost a whisper.

"What." Eddie's eyes open slightly, you process what you had just said. Before you could say another word Eddie smashes his lips on to yours, tightening his hands around your waist. You're shocked at first but let yourself melt into him. His lips are perfect for yours, even better than anytime you had dreamed it.

His taste, it was like eating something you've been craving your whole life. He raised one of his hands onto your waist, pulling you closer to him. Eddie bites your bottom lip, his way of asking for permission to slip his tongue into your mouth.

With one hand you grab his hair pulling him as close to you as you could. The other reaches under his shirt, feeling around the waist band of his underwear. You both we're running out of oxygen but it didn't stop you two from tasting every part of each other's mouths.

Eddie parts away from you, "Let me make this more enjoyable for you sweetheart." His voice is low and soft but god was it so sexy. "Okay" was all you could bring yourself to say. He spreads your legs and places you on one of his legs. The print of his bulge was so clearly visible. He was so big, it made you nervous, but it also made you eager. "Can I?" He says as he reaches for the end of your shirt. You nod.

"Use your words for me baby." Eddie says. "Yes. please take it off Eddie." you say in a whimper. His fingers glide against your skin, they're cold and rough. The touch of his fingers makes you so wet. You put your hands up to help him remove the shirt faster.

"Someone's eager" Eddie says with a smirk. A sort of confidence rushes through your body. "I'm not the only one." you say as your hand softly glides across Eddie's bulge. He gasps, crashing his lips back on to yours.

You two don't waste a second, getting back to how passionate it was just a few moments ago. You hover over Eddie's bulge, you think of sitting on it, gliding your hot cunt over it. Eddie breaks the kiss, and whispers in your ear, "Go ahead princess, don't hold back." Almost immediately you stop hovering and start dry humping Eddie's bulge. You were so happy you had decided to wear thin shorts instead of jeans. You never thought you could feel such pleasure while still being almost fully clothed.

"God you look so gorgeous." Eddie says before trailing kisses down your neck. He continues going lower and lower every time. The kisses are hot, messy, and sloppy but you don't care. Not when it's making you feel this good.

In a quick second Eddie flips you over, making you lay on your back. He's hovering over you now. Looking at the beautiful disaster he just created. Your hair is messy and there's lipstick all over your face. You give him a soft smile. He gives you one back.

"As much as i'm enjoying what's going on, I just- I need to ask, did you mean it?" Eddie says. You sit up, "mean what? Oh I- I do Eddie, I think I fell in love with you the day you first came into the store." You say while looking down, you like to avoid eye contact when you get nervous.

"Look at me princess, I love you too. And I want to do this right, you're not some hook up. I want to take you on a real official date before anything else happens." He says as he sits next to you. "Okay yeah, I'll really like that. That date better be soon though, I don't know how long I'll last without you." you say as you place a soft kiss on his lips. "trust me it'll be soon. Now, excuse me I have to go take care of something." Eddie says as he stands with his hands over his pants as he walks out of the room to the bathroom.

You lay back on the bed you've been sleeping on for the past few years. But everything is different now. It's better. You can't believe you fell in love with your high school dealer.

#eddie munson #eddie x reader #eddie munson x female character #eddie munson fluff #dealer Eddie

[911-on-abc]

oooh Country Music AU plz!

also tagging @pirrusstuff and @elgascreamslikehell because y'all also asked about it!

it's super funny to me how this is the WIP that everyone is asking about when it's the only WIP on the list that I actually haven't started writing yet 🫣

Here is the gist though: Eddie was taught how to play the guitar by his Abuelo, and they would both play together for his Abuela because his Abuelo also taught him that music is an expression of love. Eddie loves it, but even more, he is good, like crazy good.

He was taught classical guitar, but also influenced by American and Mexican folk music (i'm talking Chet Atkins, but probably also something like Los Madrugadores*) along with flamenco. I can totally see him having a Rodrigo y Gabriela** phase as a teenager, but I might just be pulling a little too much from my own experiences here hahaha

any-fucking-ways. so Eddie is good. but music does not pay the bills, and he never even thought that it was something that he could pursue, because his parents set the expectation that he was going to go to school and then work for his father and provide. Then Shannon gets pregnant and he ships off to Afghanistan, so what does it matter?

Somehow while he is in Afghanistan he gets a hold of a guitar and starts recording videos of himself playing songs for Christopher, because music is love and, God, he loves Christopher. Now we all know that Eddie is not the most... adept with technology. He's not really aware that Youtube videos can be seen by anyone who comes across them. He just uploads "video-9-20-2012.mp4" to the website before he goes to sleep (because the wifi is shit and it takes forever to process) and emails the link to Shannon in the morning.

And maybe his channel gets a couple hundred followers over the years and his videos are viewed a little more than that, but Eddie isn't paying attention. However, the quality starts to get better when he is in El Paso because he keeps up the habit. If he can't spend that much time around his son, at least Christopher will have this.

Then one day someone stumbles across his channel and tweets about it and one of his videos goes viral and the numbers go up and they keep going up and Sophia freaks out because 'Eddie you're fucking trending!' and Eddie doesn't really get Internet fame, but he starts getting offers from agents and managers and maybe this could be his ticket out of El Paso...

this got a lot longer than I thought so I'm going to share more in another ask!!

ask me about my wips!

*I'm not super familiar with Mexican or Mexican-American Folk music just yet. Info in English is kind of sparse and my Spanish is Spanglish more than anything else...

**I grew up listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela and they are soooo fucking good. their music is like rock music meets acoustic guitar meets heavy metal. I'm still pissed that my dad went to their concert a couple months ago without me!!!

#wip #asks #ask #exhuastedpigeon #Country Music au #Eddie Diaz #my post #my writing

[toburnup]

I do get what you mean when you say you were worried about not being taken so seriously if iylo? wasn't so smut-focused, but (a) first, so hilarious to me that there is a context where "will people take my writing seriously without the smut?" is a thing. But also (b) as a demi/ace-spec reader who's kind of ambivalent about smut (don't hate it, it's fun, but also even if it's fun, sometimes my brain just winds up tuning out of a fic no matter how well-written it is) this is actually why I love your writing – your other fics too – especially when smut shows up. But esp iylo?. The characterization, the scenes, all the feelings are so much more tangible and developed, it actually keeps me involved and engrossed in the smuttier bits, because you've made them so real and alive.

As thrilled as I am with every new chapter posted, I'm already dreading the day the final chapter goes up and there won't be anything more coming... But I hope you keep up the long-form semi-smutty writing afterwards too – whether about our two favourite lunkheads (affectionate) or something totally different. I enjoy your writing so much, and I really hope you believe the crazy amount of positive feedback you get because it's def deserved!

ahh thank you!! i'm glad that you're liking it 😭 sdfsdf i know what you mean, i don't know how else to word it though!! i know people enjoy my smut so i was like... will you still love me if i'm a worm? people still read my fics if they're not pwp?

pre-iylo, i wrote let it roll and it has a very similar style - steve's characterization, vignette style, eddie leaving hawkins and steve following. but it has an M rating and for a while, i saw a significant difference in how much engagement it got (not something i pay as much attention to now but at the time, it was hard not to). this feels hypocritical of me as i mostly read E-rated fics lmao.

i both relish and dread the day iylo ends. it feels like a very real world that i get to work on and i know it's going to be hard to close the door on it.

as of now, i have 1 long-ish steddie fic (i'm saying 40k but we've heard that before) in the works, as well as a steddie oneshot that i'll post in april (one i talked about AGES AGO but never posted). but outside of that, i feel like it'll be fun to write another pairing so i might give stonathan a shot. and argyle. i gotta write argyle.

#this ended up being more of a tangent than i meant it to #general writing update ig #i've never had so few WIPs. i wanted to wrap up my series so they weren't hanging over my head lol #vio answers #vio writes #long post

[floralegia]

Writing Patterns Tag Game

@moosemonstrous tagged me in this fucking AGES ago and I keep meaning to go back and do it and forgetting so sorry it took so long but here it is!!!!!

Rules: list the first lines(s) of your last 10 fics and see if there's a pattern.

A Well-Honed Blade

At first brush, Loki knows two things about the man before him.

Pots, Kettles, & Pete Wentz

Pete's sort of expecting it to be, like, the instant they get off stage, but they make it all the way back to the green room before Patrick crosses his arms and pins him with a Look.

towards your body (i can hear this beat)

The thing is, the air's always so thick with sweat and scent at shows that Pete doesn't even realize anything is happening until it's pretty much too late.

Scar-Crossed

The door opens suddenly, without being preceded by an announcement, which means one of two things: either Patrick is about to be assassinated, or he knows exactly who will be waiting for him when he turns around to look.

Bloodsport

The thing about fucking someone like Peter Goddamn Hale is that getting under his skin becomes an obsession.

Stupid Cupid

February 14, 1987 dawns crisp, clear, and downright forbiddingly cold, but Eddie doesn't care.

Miniskirt Blues

Steve has half a second to realize he doesn't think he's ever seen Eddie in a skirt before, and then he's being kissed so thoroughly that thinking isn't really on the menu at all.

it's bloody and raw, but i swear it is sweet

Will wakes to two sensations, each scrabbling for his attention before he's even awake enough to have attention to give: cramps, and below them, something far sweeter.

just play your sweet talk game (and you'll feel all right)

If he'd had more than about six seconds to realize what was going on and come up with a plan, Sam might have landed on something a little more… well… planful.

Simmer

Ed usually doesn't mind being an omega that much.

Conclusion: Establish who the POV character is (the exception, Bloodsport, identifies Stiles as the POV in the second sentence, it just doesn't quite make it into the very first one). Usually also an establishing action of some kind, sometimes also setting if I can get it (or something to indicate what type of AU it is, if any, which I guess is setting-adjacent). I'm honestly kind of laughing at how consistent this is--maybe I should try to shake it up more, just for the sake of tying something new! On the other hand, if it works it works, so...

Side note, this made me realize I've published 10 fics already this year, which is crazy?! Also, you can really see when the FOB brainrot hit, lmao...

No pressure tags: @qorktrees @buildarocketboys @foliejpg anddd anyone else who wants to give it a go!!

#tag game

[ash-is-dying]

One Rule

A/N: Very first fic so I am mildly terrified. Semi-based off of a character AI chat I had. If this gets enough views I might write the whole thing, even if it doesn’t I’m too addicted to this man to leave this story alone. Super short I’m sorry but just wanted to get something done.

No chapter warnings for now.

Just over 1k

Prologue: One More Rule

-----

As per usual Alex sits at her table in the cafeteria for lunch, letting Robin and Nancy’s words to her go in one ear and out the other. Her eyes focused on one person. Gareth. It’s as cliché as cliché gets. The girl falls in love with the guy next door (quite literally in this case) and the guy hardly knows she exists.

Everything about him screams perfection. From his fluffy hair to his dimples. The way he laughs gives her butterflies and his smile is contagious. Alex has spent years watching him from a distance, any interaction they have being filled with awkward silences, blushing and stuttering even though she sees him almost every day. Her brows begin to furrow as she keeps her focus on Gareth and his table of nerds. 

“Alex!” 

She’s snapped out of her daydreaming as Robin waves her hand in front of her face. She sits confused before her eyes follow where Alex was looking. “Oh come on! Again? Have you ever even had an actual conversation with him?”

“Yes-”

“Out of your imagination Alex.” She rolls her eyes. “Look you either make a move on him soon or find a rebound like yesterday.”

Nancy looks up at them, “Robin- gross.” 

“Think what you wanna think Nance but I’m not wrong! She’s never even been kissed, we need to set her up with someone. They’ll put you in the paper Lex, ‘teenage photographer dies an unloved virgin.’” 

“Robin!” Alex laughs, elbowing her. I don’t know, who would I even go for?” Robin looks around the cafeteria, she starts to list the names of any guy in sight until one name in particular catches her attention.

Eddie Munson.

She glances back to where Gareth is sitting and lets her eyes wander to the man now climbing up on the table. He’s everything Gareth isn’t. A showoff, cocky, crazy, he’s lanky, his hair is a mess and he has about a million tattoos tucked under his vest and jacket. He leads Hellfire, their D&D group and the only time she’s ever interacted with him was in their music class. He’s also one of Gareth’s closest friends.

Staring at him as he moved across the table, ranting some bullshit about conformity, an idea starts to form. A stupid, dumb, incredibly lame idea. But an idea none the less. 

It was clear to anyone who had ever come close to the guy that he had a massive crush on the queen bee Chrissy Cunningham. She was quite sweet and very pretty, not who you’d assume he’d go for but not like it mattered. 

Before she could stop herself she stood up, her body moving on its own. “I’ll be right back guys...” She started to bee line straight to the freak of Hawkins High himself, hearing Robin call off in the distance “I was only joking!” Her words hardly registering as Alex stops at the end of their table.

“Eddie Munson.” 

His head turns unnaturally quick, entirely caught off guard by a girl calling his name. He turns his whole body to face her and she speaks again before he can even get any words out.

“We need to talk.”

-----

“So let me get this straight- you want to fake date me?” He says leaning back, his face filled with confusion. His sweaty hands are wedged into his overflowing pockets as his leg bounces while he thinks. The pair stand under the bleachers on the basketball court, the only relatively private place during school hours.

“Yes. I know you like Chrissy Cunningham there’s no point in trying to deny it, and I have a crush on Gareth. I just think we could kill two birds with one stone, make them jealous and since you’re close with Gareth and I work on yearbook committee with Chrissy, we can talk each other up.” She sighs exasperated. “Look I know how stupid it sounds and it probably won’t work at all but I just thought what do we have to lose and-” 

“I’m in.” 

His agreement throws her off. No words come out as she looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “You’re in?”

“I’m in. You’re right, what have we got to lose. And even if it doesn’t work at least we get a good laugh out of it.”

“Aren’t you optimistic.”

“I’ve been told its one of my better qualities.” They stand in an awkward silence, unasked questions filling the air. “So, how do we do this? You wanna walk in there holding hands or like...” He trails off, this clearly being unfamiliar territory for both of them. 

“I think, before we get into this we need to have some boundaries.” She said, trying to take the lead.

“Yup. Yep, boundaries are good. I’m pretty much good with whatever if you are. Hand holding, cheek kissing, hugs, all that romantic shit.”

“Romantic shit? Oh wow I’m falling in love already,” She replies sarcastically, an eyebrow raised.

“Hey, I never said romance was my strong suit but hey, I don’t need to romance when I have all my natural charms.” He says, holding his arms out wide as if putting himself on display.

She gives him a once over. Looking at the ripped jeans, the handkerchief in his pocket, the tattoos peeking out of his sleeves, the chains and rings adorning his body and the happy trail showing underneath the hem of his shirt. 

“Natural charms... right.” She says laughing. She sighs, her face becoming serious again. “Look, I’m fine with whatever ‘romantic shit’ you want but...”

“But?”

“But I’ve never been kissed. So I’m good with cheek kisses but anything else is probably... off the table.” She clams up, her face turning red prepared for Eddie to laugh and tease her.

“I get that. No worries.” She peers up trying to hide her shock at his lack of hesitancy. “So, anything else?”

She sits stuttering before she recovers. “No. I think we’re all good.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay.”

Eddie smiles, his grin lopsided. He starts to back away back into the school. “This is gonna be fun. See you later girlfriend.” He says drawing out the word girlfriend, raising his eyebrows and winking.

She laughs softly. “See you later boyfriend.” She says in a similar manner. Before he disappears out of sight she calls out to him. His head turning suddenly like it did back in the cafeteria.

“One more rule!” She says laughing.

He stands expectantly, eyes on her and one hand holding open the door. 

“You’re not allowed to fall in love with me.”

#eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson smut #stranger things #fake dating #mutual pining #unrequited affection #slow burn

[luveline]

jade!! hi baby! hope i’m not too late to show june baby some love <3 here are my thoughts on it!!

“He locks the car and hands over your keys with a smile. You smile back, heart flipping like a spinning coin. Head over tails, over and over.”

not sure why but the “head over tails, over and over” did something to me. i really loved that 😭 I think it says a lot about how the next paragraphs went on, realising how much she likes him over and over!!

having him fixing her necklace </3 the familiarity <///3

“There's a small line of families waiting by the front. You realise it like a shock, that the three of you must look like a family too. Eddie carries Junie with the surety of a dad that's carried his child a hundred times before; he strokes the back of her head with the affection of one, soothing the mess of flyaways she'd acquired by squirming in her car seat”

you’re actually sick for writing this. “the three of you must look like a family too”. that was MEAN.

“Thanks, babe," he says outside of screen two. You bite your lip, surprised by his easy tone.”

they’re soooo married. like everything is so familiar and so easy going. it just flows 😭

“She's being extremely well-behaved," Eddie notes, an inkling of pride in his tone. You could sucker punch him. Why does he do this to you?”

why do YOU do this to me. also i love how she just keeps realising how much she likes him 😭

"I don't know. If I were in your lap I might be well-behaved too." He raises his eyebrows, an over-exaggerated show of flirtatiousness. 

You reach over the arm to take a handful of popcorn. Eyes on Junie, you offer her your stolen goods and say, "I've got two thighs." 

"Don't tempt me." 

NO SHUT UP 😭 I’d die for them 😭 I’d kill for them if I needed to 😭

the lil robin cameo omg hiiii <3

“Your outrage has him laughing again. It's a magnetic sound. Every time he does it you want to touch him, his arm one pole and your hand another.”

and

“He doesn't care that she's mauled the food. He's worried she might stain her dungarees. Your heart goes crazy, another sudden surge of clarity.”

the “sudden surge of clarity”!!! exactly what i was talking about when I mentioned that she keeps realising how much she likes him. every time she feels like wanting to touch him when he laughs, subtly flirting with him, mentioning how much they look like they’re together, I just feel like she’s finally catching up with eddie’s feelings!!

eddie feeling bad for not realising how tired she was </3

“Despite his best efforts, she starts to cry. Eddie freezes up because she doesn't cry often, not with him. When she does you're always there to find a solution. He supposes the novelty of being a new person has long worn off, and that he's going to have to make more of an effort than just tickling her or petting her hair to make it better.”

although I feel bad for baby junie being scared, i have to mention the “novelty of being a new person has long worn off” made me melt!! knowing that eddie is now such a familiar face for junie that she’s not afraid of breaking down in front of him, reaching out to him for comfort!!

“Eddie loves Junie. He knows it for a fact. She's very easy to love. She's beautiful as you are, she's loving, she's sweet. Her laugh is adorable and her smile is more. When she cries, Eddie finds he's never annoyed. Grated by the repetitive sound, maybe, but he can't find it in himself to be mad with her ever. He wants to help her work through it. To get you both through it. Eddie wants to be good at this.”

remember when i mentioned eddie choosing to love them and doing it actively? like learning about how to love her better, in a practical way. yeah :’)

"Flirting! Awesome. You're not too sick to forget how much of a catch I am. Watch your head." 

i hate him i love him so much

“You kiss the tip of your finger and touch it to his head. It's an instant healing potion.”

i think i might love you even more for writing that.

One work skirt and one work shirt hang from two lonely hangers, accompanied only by your infamous 'best jeans'. He frowns at a small stain at the knee and scratches it fruitlessly. Not her best jeans, he thinks in horror, picturing your unhappy face. He can see it so clearly, the pinching of your brows.

not him perfectly picturing the face she makes when she’s unhappy 😭 small things like these make me SO SOFT

"Listen," he says, insistent, "If we start saying thank you to each other, we won't stop. We'll be a loop of thank yous." 

"I think I have more to say than you do," you murmur. 

He shakes his head, exasperated at your inability to see him for what he is even now. It's funny. Eddie thinks you've a better view of him than anybody else, that you see him more generously than anyone has ever seen him, and you still haven't noticed he's a boy in love. 

You must feel his grin as he kisses your knee, his thumb stroking over the ridge of the cap. 

"If I started to say thanks for all the things you've given me I wouldn't stop. I'd talk myself hoarse," Eddie argues. 

You laugh at his dungeon master dramatics, but reaffirm, "I haven't given you anything."

"You don't know what you've given me," he says into your leg. 

Eddie lifts his head, weary of his chin digging into your leg. 

Now isn't the best time to declare devotion, or drop kisses into you when you can't offer any in return. Not that he's expecting you to. Not that he wouldn't receive them gratefully. 

BABY. oh my god. i don’t even know what to say. that dialogue was everything. “you don’t know what you’ve given me” 😭😭😭

"Wish we could stay like this forever," you murmur.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. If you were worried." 

"I wasn't," you say. 

Eddie thinks you might finally be on the same page.

JADEEEE 😭😭 that’s what i was talking about!!! like he’s been just patiently waiting for her to realise it too and it’s finally happening 😭 (also im pretty sure i mentioned something like that for part 2 or 3)

“You flush with heat because you're sick and not because he says it a certain way, dropping back down into your fluffed pillows without another word.”

i don’t have anything to say about that one. i just wanted to highlight it. <3 ALSO HIM TAKING CARE OF HER <333

You know she has something she wants to say. You can't wait for the days where she can. Exciting, to think that one day she'll be able to share all of her thoughts. 

i’m getting repetitive about it but the way junie is SO loved by her mom makes me wanna scream. being excited for the day junie will be able to share all her thought!!!! just thinking about it again made me tear up, really.

“Don’t be dumb.”

“You keep saying that.”

“You keep being dumb, boy.”

lol i love wayne with his tough love 😭

He looks over your shoulder at your life — at his life, or at least where a majority of it seems to take place. All his favourite parts these days happen right there on your couch, or at that table, or knee to knee with a baby that isn't his but- but-

A SHARED LIFE 😭😭😭 seeing his life and their life being irreversibly intertwined 😭😭😭 you were so low for this that’s literally my weakness.

"That's how I feel, too," you whisper. Utter. Hushed, your words ring loud anyway. "You're my best friend." 

omg best friends to lovers trope <3 no but honestly her saying “you’re my best friend” MELTED me </3

"I actually…" — he gathers as much bravery as he has — "want to take care of you." 

and

He holds your face in both hands. "You know you- You know you started it, right? You know it's- that without your-" He cringes internally at his stammering, but he has to get this part right. "You have gold where your heart should be." 

that was my final straw. completely lost it.

THE MATCHING BAND T-SHIRT. <///3

"Can I trust you'll nurse me back to health, in the event that that happens?" Would you take care of me? His hands tremble where they're touching you. He's too scared to open his eyes. 

You don't answer. 

You cover his hands and the seconds stretch endlessly, a thousand moments of terror and pining and want suddenly flattened into one as you kiss him.

He exhales against you. His relief is a palpable, viscous thing as he pulls you in and his nose digs into yours. Lips soft as he'd imagined, as he'd known they'd be, you kiss back tentatively. Sweetly.

I wouldn’t dare add something to that. I don’t have anything to say besides that the “Would you take care of me?” ruined me. also totally mood ring baby vibes, I get it.

You're kissing him like he's something that needs a careful touch. 

i love that 😭😭😭 eddie, the banished, the indomitable, the “freak”. being taken care of and treated like someone who (rightfully) needs a careful touch 😭😭😭

Eddie screws his eyes shut tight enough to see stars, firecrackers, a shattering bouquet of colours as you move beneath him. He can't believe he's kissing you. He can't believe there was a time where he wasn't.

THAT LAST PART. jade. oh my god.

"Okay?" he asks, more movement than sound. His lips skip over your own. You have to feel it.

the “more movement than sound” description was so good omg

"Make me sick, sweetheart," he says, begs. Whatever. 

Whatever word you want to use. He doesn't care if he pays for it afterwards, he wants to be close to you now, unapologetically close. And kissing you — kissing you like this, your reciprocation, it's everything because it means you feel the same as he does. 

Or a fraction the same. He's reassured either way. If you felt a fraction of what he felt, that's enough. 

It's a lot. To be touching you, finally. He grabs at the nape of your neck and kisses, kisses, kisses. He goes slowly, not quite sweetly. He's never been as sweet as you have, never as soft or patient.

It doesn't feel like it matters. 

that whole part was so good but I had to highlight that. oh my god. you’re insane. you’re SICK

Eddie massages the back of your hands. "No, you're the fucking prettiest girl ever. I think you're aces. Killer. Everything." 

"Everything," you say, an almost indecipherable glassiness to your eyes. 

"Everything," he says. He spreads his hand over your heart. 

baby, that was everything. honestly. more than I could ever think of. the way you build their relationship is so utterly satisfying and catching that getting to a point where they’re on the same page feels like we’re finally all on that same page, like we’re finally fulfilled.

you’re so talented, sweetheart. the way you write their feelings, their thoughts and their actions will always be my favourite thing in the world and i can’t believe i get to live in a time where I can read your work like this, and send you thoughts on them like this. i’m forever grateful for your talent, your hard work, your dedication and your beautiful, lovely mind and heart, for sharing this with us and dedicating most of your time for that. you’re amazing, you must know that. can’t wait to see what’s coming next from you!! take your time and take care of yourself, yeah?

love u!!! so much!!! 💌 - lu

lu you are literally a dream you notice EVERYTHING 😭 I love u

junie is so loved, and so loving! I have met small children like junie before and I think it is SUPER obvious when a child is just drowning in love and affection and patience and I know parenting isn't easy ever and sometimes kids who are extremely loved also act out and I wouldn't suggest otherwise, but yeah sometimes you meet kids and they're just the nicest, weirdest creatures ever and it makes me want my own so badly 😭 hence piling all of my parenting wants into junie and making her a little affectionate sponge

the mood ring baby vibes! it fits them so well because they both keep thinking the other is just the best thing that's ever happened, and like "do you wanna get close" "would you take care of me?" parallels are very important to me, that song basically defines romance and emulating it will always be something I'm trying to do even if it's impossible!

I am so happy you noticed the whole catching up to speed for r ! cos in part 3 it's clear she gets the wrong idea and thinks Eddie doesn't like her back so I wanted to make sure Eddie kept doing all the things he was doing that kind of scream I absolutely do like you back, I want u and ur stupid for thinking otherwise!! but he's patient (ish) and is willing to wait, though by the end of the chapter he's literally gagging for a kiss and just wants her so bad and ahh ah !! it was super fun. I thought for a while that the slow burn would keep going and that I was gonna end up disappointing people bc originally Eddie was supposed to come and they were gonna share her bed but still not kiss but as I was writing the scene I just ended up writing the kiss without thinking, I think it really matches up with how they've gradually fallen but then it's like oh wow we're in love?? that was so sudden but so long at the same time!

IM the one who is forever grateful! it is really nice to see what parts you liked and you always always say the nicest things and have the best commentary I feel like you can see inside my head sometimes and know exactly what I was thinking at the time! And sometimes you give me more credit than I deserve and add meanings to these things I was just writing on autopilot and idk it makes me feel really happy and I love that you think these things and that you could ever take the time to compile all of this.

thank you for being an amazing friend and reader, i love you! this is totally a gift !! ♥

#long post #jade's asks #love u lu baby